


The Luthor Horsie

by ciaan



Series: Luthorverse [2]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Family, Angst, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-18
Updated: 2009-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-03 06:59:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ciaan/pseuds/ciaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex tries to save his little brothers from his father. (This story is part of an AU series where, among other differences, the Luthors are the ones to find a certain little baby alien. However, the various stories within the series are also various timelines within the AU, alternate ways things could have gone from the premise, so they can be read in any order.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally completed June 2007. Betaed by kinetikatrue.

Lex flips the pages of the new issue of Twist, watching the naked people flicker by. He only had a few drags on the joint, and that's almost worn off now, and he's starting to think about reading the articles. Then he hears two sets of running feet in the hallway, and excited screams that resolve into his name, shouted repeatedly.

Sounds like naptime's over, and so is his lazy Saturday afternoon. He shoves the magazine under his pillow and stands up, shaking his head, just as the pounding on the door starts.

"Lex! You lock it! No!"

He walks over and unlocks the door, and Luc almost falls through as it swings open, leaning onto Lex's legs and looking up at him with his lip trembling. Lex smiles. "Don't break the door down, okay?"

Lian frowns, peering around the doorframe, staring hard and suspicious into the room, sniffing. He's been increasingly difficult to handle since he started middle school and Lex almost dreads the surging proximity of puberty for his little brother.

"Lex masbatating?" Luc blinks softly, confused and curious.

"Where did you hear that word?" Lex's voice is deceptively calm.

Luc stares up at Lex, blue eyes huge in his round face. "Lian."

Lian pulls back into the hallway again, straightening up. Lex glares at him. "You know not to say things like that around your brother, brat." Lian pouts, unrepentant.

Bending down, Lex picks Luc up, propping him against his hip, Luc's arms going around Lex's neck. Soon Luc will too big to carry anymore, and that's another change Lex isn't looking forward to.

"And baby, don't you ever use that word again. Especially not in front of Dad."

Luc nods.

"It's what Derrick's big brother said," Lian explains. "He said when guys lock the door, it means they're..." He trails off, and Lex is glad that Lian paid attention to this warning.

"Now what have I said? Don't ever listen to him. Remember when he told you to eat dog food?"

Lian grimaces. "That tasted bad."

"And when he told you to jump off the roof?"

"I didn't do it! That would be revealing." It's one of the biggest sins in the family, and maybe this isn't dire enough to pull that gun out against Lian, but Lex goes for it. Trouble's been brewing.

"Exactly. Derrick's big brother is an idiot. Never do what he says."

Lian pushes past Lex and stomps into Lex's room, throwing himself on Lex's bed. "You're stupid."

"Not fight," Luc orders, pushing at Lex's neck. "Read story?"

Lex bounces his baby brother on his hip a little, just a little. "What do you want to hear?" He walks toward the bed, glancing at his bedside table. "I've got Kierkegaard, some stuff on chaos theory, and..."

"Horsie! Horsie horsie horsie!"

Like there was ever any doubt. Lex laughs. "Okay, baby. I'll read to you about the horsie."

He settles down on his bed again, propping himself up against the pillows, Luc sitting in his lap. Lian curls up against his shoulder. The book is right there on the table, a child's version of the story of the Trojan War, illustrated in bright colors and written in short words. Lex doesn't need it, but Luc likes to look at it.

Their father hates it. When Lex was eight, he had been given a replica of the city and the soldiers, and told to learn strategy with it. Lionel thinks that's the level his children should be at. Luc isn't. He's five, and he can't read at all yet, doesn't use complete sentences when he talks, can't pronounce any word of three or more syllables. He makes messy drawings, and he cries sometimes, and he wants Lex to read him the same story every day. By that age, both Lex and Lian could talk very well, and were working on reading and writing and math at a rate beyond that considered normal. Luc is the disappointing son, the one who isn't up to Dad's standards, the stupid one, the sickly one, sickly the way Lex isn't anymore.

Combined with the fact that Lionel still blames Luc for their mother Lillian's death, it means Luc has never had any parental affection in his life.

But Lex loves his baby brother with a fierce and protective passion that almost leaves him breathless at times. He doesn't care what Luc can and can't do, because he would do anything for Luc.

"...So the Greeks gathered up lots and lots of wood, and they began to build a horse. The horse was tall, almost tall enough that it wouldn't fit through the gates of Troy, but not too tall. They built it-"

The door flies open and their father strides into the room. Lex stops in midsentence as all three of them look up.

"Lex. Lian." Lionel nods twice, sharply.

"Dad," Lex answers. Lian doesn't say anything, and Luc shrinks back slightly, pressing harder against Lex's chest. Lex tightens his arm around Luc's waist.

"There's a meeting I want you to attend tomorrow morning, Lex, concerning certain scientific inquiries that ought to be of interest to you. I'll expect you in the smoking room at 10 am sharp."

The smoking room isn't used for smoking at all; it's used for group meetings, and Lex figures that means there will be five to ten people in attendance. He has no clue what scientific inquiries his father is discussing, or who might be at this event, but he nods. "Okay. I'll be there." His voice is a little colder than he meant to allow it to be, but only a little.

The stern look on his father's face will brook no arguments, and Lex just wants Dad out of the room right now. Of course he wouldn't have given more advance notice, and of course he has nothing else to say, just this imperious summons that could have easily been given in a note. Or his father could have arrived a few minutes earlier, before the kids did, and it would have been easier. Luc is starting to twitch a little, nervous and trying to hide it, which is why Lionel is scowling. Luc's poor response to his father's presence just increases Lionel's contempt, and that makes Luc even more upset every time. Since Lionel knows what happens in the house, and knows the schedule, he could have easily avoided this, but for some reason he chose to barge in here right now, and it makes Lex angry.

Lionel nods in response, then stares at the three boys on the bed for a short instant more. "Your midterm grades came in, Lian, and they were satisfactory. Apparently you haven't gotten in trouble much these past few weeks. Good."

Lian beams.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Lex." With another slam of the door, Dad's gone.

Luc turns, burying his face in Lex's neck, clinging and whimpering. Lian's smile fades away. Lex wants to hurt someone, preferably Dad. Instead, he just stokes Luc's back, whispering softly. "It's okay, baby. I'm right here. Let's go back to the horsie, huh? All those men fitting inside the belly of the horsie?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Lian's hand slowly creeping under his pillow. He reaches out, grasps Lian's wrist.

"Don't even try it, brat."

Lian could have yanked the magazine out faster than Lex could even see, so he clearly wanted Lex to stop him. It's a distraction attempt, but it fails completely to make Lex feel any better. He squeezes Lian's wrist as hard as he can, knowing it won't hurt him, and that actually helps a bit. Lian stares back at him, green eyes open and guileless. "I just wanted to know what you were reading."

Lex shakes his head. "Forbidden magazine. So your grade report says you haven't gotten in any trouble at school yet this semester, huh?" Lex knows that's not the truth.

"Well, someone may have gone into the principal's office and taken a page or two out of the envelope before it was mailed."

"I see. Did he praise you enough to make the effort worthwhile?"

Lian slumps back against the wall, effortlessly pulling his hand out of Lex's grasp. "It wasn't hard at all." He frowns.

Putting his arm around Luc's shoulders, Lex nods, but he doesn't apologize.

Luc coughs into Lex's chest. "Horsie?"

"Sure, baby. Where were we?"


	2. Chapter 2

Lex enters the smoking room at 9:58 the next morning. There are two security guards at the door who motion him inside. He can tell that the meeting is already in progress. His father is seated at the head of the table, and arrayed down the sides are a man in a suit and another man and two women in white lab coats. None of them look worthy of the security. A hush falls on the room as Lex walks in. He takes the empty seat next to his father, and Lionel slides a blue presentation folder over to him. One of the women, her dark hair in a tight bun, begins to speak again.

"The chance of successful adaptation is only twenty five percent, with the rest of the subjects developing a particularly malignant form of cancer caused by the radiation. The xenorite is highly unstable, and controlling the levels of exposure has so far proven unsuccessful."

"I am aware of this," Lionel says, as Lex opens the folder, listening to the confusing discussion.

"The adaptations appear to generally be more stable and more powerful in subjects exposed at an early age, but the chance of cancer is actually greater for them, as well," she continues.

"A moment, Dr. Teng." Lionel raises a hand, glancing at Lex. Lex is reading the first page in the folder, which has a graph of cancer versus adaptation in subjects exposed since... "Lex." He looks up, away from the graph that begins in October 1989, and into his father's hard eyes. "Xenorite is an otherwise unknown radioactive compound that occurs in the meteorites taken from Smallville. Read the information on some of the mutations that have been caused by exposure."

He can feel all the eyes on him as he looks over the next page. It reads like a science fiction story. Teleportation, mind control, gills, prophetic visions. His own name.

His own name. Next to that, in neat type, the words 'alopecia, enhanced healing.'

Lex looks up, the edges of his vision blurring, staring into his father's eyes. Lionel glances away. "Please continue, doctor."

The woman nods. "It's been years since the last time we attempted to create a new adaptation. To do so now with just one subject is most likely to result in that subject's death. It isn't very efficient."

"This particular subject is expendable, as is."

Lex can feel a wave of dread rising in his stomach as he turns the page. A picture of Luc stares out at him from the crisp paper. It tears in his hand, and he's standing up.

"No. Dad. Fuck. You can't."

"Sit down, Lex." His father's voice is as commanding as it's ever been. Lex doesn't sit.

"A seventy five percent chance of fatal cancer?"

"Either the child will become acceptable, or he will no longer be of any concern."

"He's your son!"

"Lex. Sit down."

Lex rips the page even more, and flings the pieces at his father. They flutter down impotently halfway there, worn out by the force of the air resistance. "Then why the hell am I here?"

"I thought you might appreciate the chance to participate in some cutting-edge scientific research. I thought you might like to know a little more of your legacy. I thought you might be helpful and obedient."

"You want me to help you poison and kill my baby brother!"

Suddenly the guards are holding him, and Lex struggles futilely, unable to wrench his arms out of their grasp, unable to kick them hard enough to affect them. The four strangers are frozen, almost not breathing. His father smiles harshly.

"You have two options, Lex. You can participate in this experiment, or you can be a helpless bystander."

"I won't let you touch Luc."

"Don't make threats you can't keep." Lionel is completely calm as he says that, his eyes dark, mouth relaxed, as if none of this matters to him.

Lex spits, and it gleams against the dark wood of the table. Lionel jerks his chin. The security guards haul Lex back, through the doors, out of the room. He yells and screams as they drag him through the mansion, up to a guest suite on the third floor of the little-used west wing. They shove him in, and the door closes behind him with a heavy thump and the sound of a lock clicking.

He paces the room, growing more desperate as he thinks of that picture of Luc in the folder.

It was Luc's school photo from the beginning of the year. He looked nervous in it, against the backdrop of a fake night sky. Pictures of Luc are almost exactly like pictures of Lex from when he was five, the same rounded face, soft features, and bright blue eyes, the same reddish curls, though Luc's are a bit darker, falling down in cherubic ringlets. Melt away the baby fat and remove the hair, and it transforms into Lex's current face. Luc is his, always has been, from the day Mom died when he was just a few weeks old until now. Luc will always be Lex's.

Lian is completely different. He was already a toddler when he was adopted, and Lex can't remember holding him in the crook of an arm, small and fragile and wordless. Lian has dark hair, sharper features, brilliant green eyes, strangenesses that surpass Lex's own, Lex's beliefs about their abilities shifting in his mind now as he scrabbles frantically for answers. It's not that Lex doesn't love Lian, because he does, quite a lot. But Lian can take care of himself. Luc can't.

Lian isn't targeted. Luc is.

Lian's already survived it. Luc might not.

Finally Lex stops walking in circles around the center of the room, and approaches a window, pushing aside the heavy velvet curtains. There's a guard down there in the yard. He checks the other side of the room, and there's a guard below that window, as well.

There's nothing he can do in here. His first step is to escape. He has no clue where he'll go, though. He just has to get out of this room, find Luc.

So what are his resources?

He has his wallet in one pocket, sixty three dollars and thirty seven cents, movie ticket stub from Friday, driver's license. No car keys. In his other pocket, a lighter.

The room is full of heavy, old-fashioned furniture. A few chairs, a dressing table, a four-poster bed, the bedding and curtains. He strips the bed, twists the sheets together into a rope, ties it to the edge of the bed and drags it over to the window on one side.

Then he goes over to the other side and sets the curtains on fire.

A minute later the guard calls out, and the second guard runs around to that end. Lex dashes over, throws the opposite window open, drops his makeshift rope out. He casts one last glance at the dancing flames and climbs out of the room, hearing noises in the hallway.

He cuts across the grass to one of the side entrances. Can his brothers hear the commotion? Has Dad put his experiment into action already?

Shit. The door opens in front of him and another guard runs out.

Lex veers over toward the wall that blocks the street. It's tall, but there's a tree right there that can be climbed, and then the drop over isn't too bad. He's done it before. There are a few guards running toward him, guns drawn, and Lex grabs a branch, swings up. He makes it a few more branches up, and then there's a hiss and something pokes the side of his neck. The rough bark slips against his fingers as the world goes dark.


	3. Chapter 3

Lex wakes up in his own bed. He was chasing something in his dreams, and it takes a moment for him to realize where he is. The room is calm and quiet, late afternoon sunlight slanting onto the pale blue walls, a blanket wrapped around him. He rolls over, and that's when he sees that he isn't alone.

A young woman, probably mid-twenties, is sitting in one of the armchairs across the room, reading, short honey-colored hair sweeping forward over her face. He freezes, staring at her. She's wearing jeans and a light sweatshirt, acting as if she has every right to be there.

She looks up and smiles. "Awake again? You look like you're actually here this time."

"Who... What..." His throat hurts, and his voice sounds harsh. She doesn't seem like a security guard.

"I'm Sarah. I'm a nurse. You've had a pretty high fever, Mr. Luthor. Said some weird things the other times you were awake." She chuckles. "It hasn't been boring, at least."

Lex stares, horrified. What did Dad do to him? Is she in on it? How... "How long?" He chokes on the words.

"I've been here the past three days, and it started a day or two before that. You've missed some school."

"Where..." He struggles up to a sitting position, and starts coughing. This is horrible. Vague memories of asthma attacks and colds flit through his mind, and he shoves them away. There's a glass of water on the bedside table, and he grabs it, taking small sips. Someone's changed his clothes, he notices. He's wearing the t-shirt Luc made him buy at the zoo last year, with the tacky cartoon animals on it, and he gasps as soon as he's swallowed, trying to get air in. "Where are my brothers?"

The young woman shrugs. "I don't know. I've been in here with you. They've tried to get in, but haven't been allowed. You were delirious and contagious."

The water is lukewarm, and Lex takes another sip. "Are they okay?"

"They didn't catch it from you, no."

"Sarah?" She nods. Lex tries smiling at her sweetly, like she's one of the girls at school. The effect is ruined when he coughs again. "Can I go somewhere?"

She shakes her head, but her voice is apologetic. "Sorry, Mr. Luthor. You have to stay in your own room for a little longer, until you're better. You can tell that you're still sick."

"I'm Lex. Mr. Luthor is the heartless bastard who hired you to keep me locked up in here."

Setting the book aside, she stands up and approaches him slowly. When he doesn't move, she presses the back of her hand to his forehead. "Well, Lex, you don't really feel feverish anymore. But you've been talking about your father trying to kill you. You kept having nightmares."

Her fingers are cool, and he pulls away. There's no telling what she'll do. "Look, um, if you want to assuage my fevered delusions, could I talk to my brother? Even just on the phone?"

She shrugs, and moves back to her chair. No, his chair, damn it. That's when he starts to think that maybe she really is just a nurse, and she has no idea what Dad's up to. Well, that way she wouldn't be able to leak anything to Lex that Lionel didn't want him to know. Ignorance is a strong defense. But she could be putting him on still, trying to lull his suspicions. She's certainly not an ally, at any rate.

After taking a few more sips of water, Lex picks up the phone and dials the extension for Lian's room. The clock reads 4:32 pm, and Lian ought to be having free time. It only rings once, and then the other end is picked up. Lex imagines Lian zipping across the room to the phone and smiles slightly.

"Hello?"

Lex feels something jump inside him at the sound of Lian's voice. At least one of his brothers is alive and well. "Lian..." His throat closes up, and he swallows, hoping not to start coughing again.

"Lex." There's a strangled little crack in Lian's tone. Lex desperately wants to actually see him, touch him, and he twists the phone cord violently around his hand. "Oh, Lex. You've been sick, Dad's been so angry, Luc fell down the stairs, and I-"

"Luc what?" Lex does start coughing again, and Sarah glances up, watching. He can hear Lian whine, like a kitten at a closed door. "I'm fine. I'm just coughing." He has to calm Lian, even though he's nowhere near calm himself.

"You don't get sick," Lian whispers.

"It doesn't matter. Is Luc okay? What the he- what happened?"

"He fell down the stairs and got stitches. Dad stomped around a bit, and I've hardly seen him since then."

"How could you let him fall down?" Waves of relief are washing over Lex at the thought that Luc isn't dead, isn't sick, isn't locked in some lab somewhere being tortured by Dad's scientists, but that's all fighting with a violent surge of fear that Luc actually is hurt, and he can hear it come out in his voice, anger at Dad, at the world, probably seeming like it's aimed at Lian.

"I was at school!" Lian doesn't sound angry at Lex though, the way he normally is when Lex yells. He sounds confused and afraid.

"Where is he now?"

"He's napping."

"But you've seen him?"

Lian moans again, lost and young. "Of course. I meant I hadn't seen Dad. Lex, you're being scary."

"Okay, listen. Don't leave him alone. I'm serious, Lian. Every second you can spend around Luc, do it."

"...Okay." After the hesitation, Lian's tone is resigned and defeated. "Can we come see you?"

"I want you to, but... I don't know if they'll let you." He glances up to see Sarah staring at her book again, and lowers his voice. "Try it. Bring Luc and try it."

"I'll break down your door." Lian is excited now, a sudden shift in mood, still his mercurial self. Lex actually laughs at it, which surprises him. He's still worried as fuck, and he has no idea what's happening or what's going to happen, no plan or anything. But he can't help it, and he laughs. Then he coughs. He thinks of all the other flus and colds he hasn't had in the past seven years, and at least there's some benefit to whatever it is that Dad's up to, much as he hates to admit that.

"Well, hurry up then, brat."

The phone clicks off, and Lex puts down his receiver, unwinding himself from the cord. He takes another sip of water and slumps against the headboard. The minutes creak slowly past. He starts to fret.

The door crashes open, and Lian crosses the room so fast that he's already on top of Lex when Sarah looks up, his heavy, squirming weight pushing Lex down against the pillows. Lian grips Lex so hard it hurts, and Lex digs his fingernails into Lian's impervious back with all his might. "LexLexLexLexLex..." Lian exhales into his ear. Lian's desperation somehow serves to calm Lex down, to trigger in him something deep-seated that responds to his brothers' needs by rising to meet them and the occasion and triumphing against it.

Then he hears Luc's hysterical screech. "My Lex lap! Bad Lian!"

He barely notices Lian slipping off and retreating to the foot of the bed, because he turns and sees Luc standing next to him, eyes full of tears.

"Oh, God, baby. Oh, my baby." He presses the back of his knuckles to his trembling lips for a second, and then sweeps Luc up, wrapping his arms around him, burying his face in the bright curls. Luc is solid and warm against him, alive and well. He smells of shampoo and pillows and of baby, fresh and clean. Lex breathes in deeply. Luc snuffles against him.

For a minute Lex forgets everything else and just holds his baby brother tightly, trying to keep from bursting. This is the heart of his world, and he cannot imagine losing it. He only looks up at the sound of someone clearing her throat from across the room.

"I don't think you're supposed to have visitors, Lex. You might infect them."

Lex squeezes Luc closer. Luc wriggles and yelps, and Lex feels the hard line of stitches across Luc's shoulderblade. He shivers and loosens his grip.

"No, no, I have to see them." His voice is firm. "There's no way you can forcibly remove them." He glances at Lian, who's leaning against the wall a few feet away, knees pulled up to his chest, chin propped up on his arms, looking quite dejected. "I really don't think you want to deal with all three of us throwing a tantrum at the same time."

Sarah frowns, staring at him a moment more. Then she nods. "I'll give you a short visit, for now." She turns back to her book. He wonders for a second what it is.

"Missed Lex," Luc sniffs, pawing at Lex's cheek.

"I missed you, too, baby."

"Not be sick. Stupid sick."

"Yeah, you're right, it was a bad decision. Whatever was I thinking. I'll try not to do it again in the future."

Luc turns and glares at Lian. "Stupid Lian."

"I'm sure he was great while I was gone," Lex placates.

Lian doesn't even look at them.

"He no do horsie right."

"I'll read you horsie in a minute, baby. Can I look at your glorious warrior wound first?"

"Horsie!" Luc struggles to lean toward the book on Lex's table, and Lex holds him down.

"I need to see your back first."

Luc pouts, but he stills. Lex turns him around and lifts up the back of his shirt, baring his shoulders. The cut isn't very long or wide, but it looks deep. The lines of it are neat and even, and scalpel-straight under the six stitches. Lex presses his fingers against Luc's warm skin, and he can feel the bump right there under the clean incision. He closes his eyes.

Lex doesn't know exactly what that bump is, but he knows what it will do. It's been in there for a couple days now, letting radiation seep through Luc's small body, sink into his muscles and bones, down into the cells and DNA. Lex can picture the energy levels and the chemical processes, the genes replicating and shifting, the cells running wild. He knows about cancer.

He opens his eyes, stares at his own hand. Sees dust rising into the air and hears the crunch of corn stalks, smells cows and tastes blood. Luc's skin is so smooth. Lex looks up and sees Lian looking back at him. Their eyes meet, and he notices how worried Lian is, although he still doesn't know why, since Lian is ignorant of all this.

It's inside Luc already, and Lex can't take it out. They'll notice, they'll try it again, it will be worse next time and Lex will have lost all his access, all his chances.

He can't take his brothers and just go. He's only sixteen, and what the hell would he do? Where would he go? It's been inside Luc already, working its damage. Lex can't support them in the world. He can't sign contracts or reach his own money, what Mom left him, without Dad's permission. He has no power.

There are other people than Lionel Luthor in the world who have power, but they'd all be worse options. At least Lex knows Dad. What would the government do? What would one of Dad's competitors do? If anyone else found out about these mutations, it would be even more horrible. Especially since Lex would have no bargaining chips with them.

At least Dad wants Lex's cooperation, Lex's obedience, what Lex represents to him, his future.

Lex can either sit in his room while Luc rots away inside, or he can capitulate and agree to help Dad, get access to information, be there for whatever happens. He hates the choice, but he can't see any other options, and he knows which one of those two he prefers, now that there's nothing else left.

He pulls Luc's shirt back down, straightens it out, settles Luc against his chest. "Okay, baby. You've been very brave, and now it's time to hear about the horsie."

Luc bounces. "Mmm, horsie."

Lex pulls down the book and settles it on Luc's lap, opening it to the worn page that it automatically flops to. "The Greeks had been at Troy for a long time, and they couldn't get inside, because Troy had big, strong walls. The walls had a gate, but it was locked up tight."

"You're reading to the kid about the Trojan War?" Sarah asks, tone incredulous.

Luc frowns. Lex frowns, too. That's just rude of her. "He likes the Trojan Horse."

"It's a pretty sneaky way to get inside and kill everyone."

Oh, no. Lex's fingers clench, and he brings a hand up to block his mouth in a shushing gesture, then almost reaches over to cover Luc's ears, but it's too late.

"Nooooooo! No kill. Just horsie!" Luc pounds a fist against the book, mouth open wide.

Lex glares at Sarah. "We don't talk about that part." He strokes his fingers over Luc's head, through his hair, cooing to him. "Baby, it's okay. No one's killing anyone. It's just a horsie. A big, wooden, cunning horsie, an amazing feat of engineering." Dad hates that bit, too, the fact that Luc is obsessed with the horsie but throws a fit any time he's reminded it has to do with a war, with people fighting and dying. Luc doesn't do well with references to war, or disease, or death. Lex curls his hand around the back of Luc's neck, and he has no fucking clue how he's going to handle it if anything bad happens to his baby.

Luc calms down again. "Tell horsie?"

Looking back up, Lex sees Lian still huddled at the other end of the bed. "Lian?" He gestures with his chin. "You want to come up here?"

Lian shakes his head and scoots another inch further away. Lex doesn't know what that's about, either. Normally Lian likes cuddling with them.

Lex goes back to telling the story. Sarah stays quiet after that, and so does Lian, and in a few minutes Luc sags down, his head falling against Lex's shoulder, his breathing slowing. He was woken from his nap to come here, and now he's returned to napping. Lex sets the book aside and just holds Luc to him, listening to the soft sounds he makes, feeling his heart beat.

He hears Lian whispering, penetrating though his reverie. "Lex?"

"Yeah?" he whispers back.

"I need to talk to you alone."

He looks up at the woman keeping watch over him. "Let's go in the bathroom." Easing Luc off him, he stands up, and Lian darts ahead of him into the bathroom. Lex follows and closes the door. Lian's sitting on the lowered toilet lid, hands clasped together. Lex settles down on the edge of the tub next to him. "What is it?"

Lian looks scared. "What's happening?"

"Nothing's-"

"Lex! Don't. I really need to know." Lian stares straight at him, green eyes huge, and Lex sees tears in the corners and Lian's lip trembling. He hasn't seen Lian cry since Mom died. Did Dad do something else?

"Okay. There's... Luc didn't really fall down the stairs. And I wasn't really sick. Dad's doing something. You've heard of the Smallville meteor shower?"

Lian nods, voice shaky. "You lost all your hair."

"I went to that meeting last Sunday. I learned that those meteorites are radioactive, and they've done stuff to people. People like me, and you. That's what your abilities are, and mine, and... But most of the time, the radiation causes cancer and just kills people."

Lian whimpers again deep in his throat, and Lex is really getting worried. This isn't right. He's never seen his brother like this. "But I wasn't there in the meteors."

"No, but you must have been near them at some point later on. I don't..." Don't know. Don't want to say this. Had Dad done the same thing to Lian once, too? "Dad wants Luc to be more acceptable, like you and me. He put a... a bit of meteorite or something inside Luc. That's what happened to give him stitches. He doesn't care if... I tried to stop him, so he had me stuck in here where I couldn't do anything."

Curling forward, Lian drops his chin to his chest. "Fu..." He trails off, and Lex hates every middle school student on the planet, hates television, hates his Dad, hates himself for a second. "Lex. Ever since Luc fell down, being near him... hurts? I... I don't really know what hurts means, but I think this is it."

"Shit." Lex slides off the bathtub rim, sinking to his knees on the floor in front of Lian. "Does it hurt right now?"

Lian shakes his head. "Far enough away." He looks up into Lex's face, tears streaking his cheeks. "Make it stop."

"I can't. I'm sorry." The words taste like dirt. Lex hates to admit it, hates to explain things to Lian now, hates to know so little himself, to be so powerless. He reaches up and wipes at Lian's cheek, pushing the dark hair away from Lian's forehead. "Oh, baby..."

"Don't call me that." Lian frowns through the tears.

"So you'd rather that I refer to you as a brat?"

"Yeah. I'm not a little kid."

Lex stares at him, resting both his hands on Lian's shoulders. Lian's face is wet, but his chin is firm. "No, you're not." Lian's eleven now, and that's how old Lex was when Luc was born, when Mom died. That's how old he was when he started really taking responsibility for someone else. It's almost unbelievable to think that, because he would swear he was older then than Lian is now, than Lian will ever be, but maybe he wasn't. "You have to be my second-in-command, Lian. You have to help me deal with this. You have to help me protect Luc."

Wiping at his eyes, Lian nods. Then he presses the side of his arm against Lex's. "Derrick wanted to become my blood-brother. I told him I couldn't."

It takes a second for Lex to figure out why he's mentioning that, the swearing of allegiance. He presses a kiss to Lian's forehead, hugs him close. Lian's arms go around his back. "Not that I wouldn't do it if it were possible, but that would be a step down."

"Okay," Lian mumbles. "I promise I'll watch out for Luc while you're stuck." He sniffs, right in Lex's ear, and Lex smiles. "But I can't tell stories as good as you."

"Yeah, well, I can't break down doors as good as you." After a long moment he lets go and sits up on the bathtub again as Lian leans back, looking calmer. "How much does it hurt?"

"I don't know."

This is hard. Nothing's ever been able to hurt Lian before. He must be especially sensitive for some reason, because Lex couldn't feel a thing. People aren't supposed to actually feel radiation. But it's vaguely logical, or at least poetic, that the very stuff that caused Lian to be free of pain could actually hurt him.

Lex presses forward with some semblance of a line of questioning. "Well, is it just a little pain, something annoying? Or is it enough pain that it interferes with functioning?"

"It... I can feel it. And it made me drop stuff, and I've tripped. It's like hard-soft-fluttering inside me, and then things don't work. It feels bad."

"You don't have to cause yourself pain in order to guard Luc. You can stay further away and watch him. I don't want you getting hurt, or falling and breaking things, or, you know." Lex shrugs. He doesn't want Lian falling down and hurting anyone else, either.

"Yeah." Lian stands up. "Let's not leave him alone longer." Lex grabs his wrist as Lian starts to exit.

"Lian... I'm really proud of you."

Lian's smile is bright enough to wash out the stars from the night sky, like the city lights of Metropolis. He wraps his hand around Lex's forearm and pulls Lex up. Lex walks out of the bathroom with his brother's fingers laced through his.


	4. Chapter 4

It seems best to get Lian and Luc out of Lex's room as quickly as possible. Apparently there had been guards outside the door at some point, keeping them from visiting, but there weren't anymore. Lex doesn't think they're supposed to come in, though, and, if at all possible, he doesn't want Dad to know that they did. So he wakes Luc up, and assures him through his fussing and shrieking that it'll be okay, and that he can come back tomorrow, but that now he has to go finish his nap in his own room. Eventually he manages to get them out the door and Lian takes Luc away, his face set tight.

Once they're gone, Lex perches on his bed again, thinking. The next step is to deal with this nurse. She's seen him at his worst, seen him sick, drugged, whatever it was, and she's been there for private moments no one should have witnessed. It makes him annoyed. He wants to restore at least a modicum of his dignity and control, here in his own damn bedroom.

She's still sitting there reading, acting like it's all okay.

"So, what day is it?" he asks, because she made it sound like he'd been sick for ages.

"Thursday."

Just lovely. He decides he'll feel a lot better, for a number of reasons, if he takes a shower and gets dressed. He grabs some clothes before he goes in the bathroom and tries not to think as the hot water sluices over him. When he comes back into the bedroom wearing jeans and a clean shirt he sits down next to her in the other armchair. She ignores him, and Lex finally notices what she's reading.

"That's my book."

She looks up from The War Of The Worlds. "You have a pretty good library."

He glares. Her bedside manner really needs work.

She just shrugs. "You were asleep most of the time, but I've been stuck here day and night with not much to do. So don't complain."

"What, they made you stay in here and sleep on the floor?" He doubts a nurse would do that with no relief, and thinks it more likely for a spy.

"Actually, yes."

"So when do you leave?"

"I don't know."

He leans back further in the chair. "In your professional estimation, what exactly was wrong with me?"

"You had the flu, Lex. It's pretty common. And because your father's rich enough, I got to spend time here, too."

"Yeah, he likes to ruin as many lives as possible. Congratulations on being one of the less ruined." Lex can feel the chance at sounding cultured and dignified slipping quickly out of his reach. There have been too many things to deal with, and all he really wants right now, if it won't all just go away, is to have some solitude to think through his options. The fact that she's in the room itches at him. He's still tired, even though he's slept for days, and his throat hurts a little. He sighs. "Can't you just leave me alone?" She shakes her head.

He plods across the room to his bed, getting as far from her as he can in the limited space. He sits there for a minute, feeling like there's a lump of lead on his heart. He doesn't want to do this, but he should, as soon as he can. Now. There's no time to prepare himself more, because he'll never be ready, and every second that passes comes closer to making it too late.

Lex dials the number for his father's home office. After three rings he thinks it won't happen, and he's shaking. Then at the fourth, Lionel picks up. "Feeling better, Lex?"

His throat closes, then opens again. "I think it's clearing up." The line is silent for a moment as neither speaks. "Is the offer still open, Dad?"

"No. But you can make me a new offer."

"Give me access to the information on what you're doing. I'll monitor Luc, keep him calm, tell you what's going on. I just... I want to be there for it." He glances up at Sarah, but she's ignoring him again. If she doesn't know anything it won't make sense to her, and if she's reporting back to Dad, well, she'll tell him about a conversation he's already party to.

"And how do I know you won't sabotage the experiment?"

"Because I wouldn't get away with it. You have things pretty much wrapped up. But honestly, Dad, I'm your best chance at keeping Luc under control."

"I'm well aware of that, which is partly why I asked you to be involved in the first place. I want you to have a stake in my endeavors. I want to be able to be proud of you."

"So you'll tell me about the procedure?"

"Come by my office tomorrow morning. We'll have a private meeting to discuss terms. Good night, Lex."

He's left with a click and then the dial tone in his ear, feeling as empty as a shell without the sound of the sea. He stares listlessly at nothing for a while. Eventually he dials another number, and a moment later is embroiled in a totally different conversation.

"Aww, Lex, I heard you had a vicious flu, man." Tyrone sounds almost excited by the prospect, as if it's the plot of a movie.

"Yeah, I did. I'm stuck in my room with a nurse."

"A grandmother type nurse, or a hot young one?"

"The latter, actually." Lex glances at her surreptitiously. She's annoying and untrustworthy, but she's pretty, and he can exaggerate.

"Mmm, did you get sponge baths?"

"Oh, indeed, every five minutes." Lex says that blandly. "But look, I need you to tell me what we've done in class while I was gone." That's something to say, something normal. The thought of calculus and history, and how he could try to distract himself.

"They've been making up packets for you. Your brother was supposed to bring them home to you."

Wincing, Lex lets the phone slip, then presses it tighter against his cheek. "He... may have. I haven't gotten to talk to him about that yet." There's no way he can ask Lian about his homework.

"Sounds like you're having a communication breakdown." Tyrone laughs. He's always said Lex was too caught up in his brothers.

"It's been weird." His voice catches in his throat, attempting to pass it all off as insignificant.

"What's up?"

It feels like he's choking. "No, nothing, just being sick and kinda out of it. I gotta go, okay? I'll talk later."

"Lex..."

But Lex hangs up on Tyrone, then. He just isn't able to do it. He can't laugh and joke and pretend that nothing is going on, and he can't tell the truth. He had thought maybe, maybe it would make everything more normal, distract him and allow him to feel like he's coming back to his life in a good way. But instead it just emphasizes how very much outside the usual he is, and how much he has to deal with right now. He can't talk across the gap in these worlds, talk between this life or death place he's in and Tyrone's commentary on school and sexual jokes, not when he can't even say where it is he's talking from.

He notices Sarah staring at him, and glares back. "Did you give me any sponge baths?"

"Luckily, no," she answers.

He shudders, and is even more glad that he already took a shower.

"Do you want any dinner?" she continues. "I'm hungry."

His stomach heaves, and his head hurts. He tries to stand up, stumbles, then catches himself and walks as steadily as possible into the bathroom, where he spends the next few minutes throwing up bile, feeling it burn his throat and mouth. Lex doesn't even remember the last time he vomited, and it makes him feel caught somewhere between drunken parties with friends and watching his mother when he was much younger and she first got sick. He's sweating and shaking, leaning on the toilet, and some fucking nurse that is, not even trying to help him. Not that he wants her to see this. He just wants to curl up against the cool ceramic, or maybe in a warm blanket, and have this all go away. Instead his tongue feels scratched, covered in the most vile taste, and he has a meeting with his father to look forward to still.


	5. Chapter 5

When Lex wakes up the next morning he's ravenous, but he still doesn't want to eat. Sarah had actually left him for a while, but he remembers half waking up when she came back, and there she is, curled on the floor in a sleeping bag. He creeps around, taking a shower, getting dressed, and she doesn't respond. He's nervous when he opens the door, but it swings wide, and the hallway is empty.

It's still early morning, but late enough that Lian and Luc will have left for school, and Dad should be in his office. He hadn't said any particular time that Lex ought to arrive. Lex walks down corridors, past his brothers' empty bedrooms, past a maid dusting in the library, and to the heavy oak of his father's office door. He knocks.

"Dad?"

"Ah, Lex, come in." Lionel is leaning back in his chair, hands steepled in front of him on top of the glass desk. "Have a seat."

Lex walks forward slowly, lowers himself into the chair in front of the desk. He folds his hands in his lap.

"Now. Explicate your proposal for me."

His father's face is blank, cultivated calm. Lex examines the imperious features, the mane of dark hair, the sharp eyes that have determined so much of his life up to this point. He doesn't think he can really renegotiate the terms of his existence now. They've been laid out very clearly so far. Lionel has encouraged Lex to learn about everything except his own family, where questions have been forbidden. Would it have been better if all this had been explained to him when he was nine? When he could have just accepted it, rather than wondering about it?

Dad begins to look impatient.

Lex clears his throat, hoping he won't cough or choke, or even throw up again, keeping his voice as steady as he can. "You presumably want your experiment to be successful, since you embarked on it. I want it to be successful, too. Therefore, it makes sense for me to work with you and your team. I would like to be given as much information as possible about the parameters of the experiment. In return, I will keep Luc cooperative and controlled, and report on his progress, if I am allowed to have supervision of him most of the time."

Lionel stares at Lex, weighing his response. "And what will you do if the experiment has an outcome you find negative?"

"I... don't know." Lex does begin to choke up at that. He can't even imagine it.

"You have to agree to continue to cooperate in any situation that is brought about, including termination of the subject."

Lex freezes, gluing his back to the seat. He refuses to show his horror, he refuses to slump forward the way he wants to.

"I've been waiting for you to make a decision, but without your cooperation, I feel the subject will have to be placed in a more restricted environment for monitoring."

"Dad..." He feels his stomach roil again. He hates being so weakened, so obviously responsive. "How can you..."

"You have no idea what's led to this." His father's voice is flat, and Lex searches for any hint of caring. He doesn't look for it as much now as he once did, and he rarely believes he finds it, but sometimes he does. Lionel seems calm, but his eyes are dark and hooded, and Lex knows he's feeling something. The question is, what?

"Because you've never told me." The words are quiet, and Lex didn't want to say them.

"Do you agree to the terms?"

"I do."

Lionel smiles. "Don't worry, Lex, I already expect you to break that promise someday."

Lex wishes he weren't at war. "Do you know that the radiation is hurting Lian as well?" He feels like he's betraying something already, bartering away his soul for a chance to maybe keep his brothers' bodies safe.

"Yes, your brother is especially sensitive to the xenorite. We attempted to minimize the amount of radiation that would leak out, but can't contain it all. It should be manageable for him, and doesn't seem to have caused too many problems so far."

"So you were willing to hurt all three of us to do this."

"You'll be fine in another day or so, Lex."

Lex scowls. "What did you do to me, anyway?"

Smirking, Lionel shakes his head. "That information wasn't part of what you requested." So Dad still has a weapon against him. Lionel slides another blue folder over the desk toward Lex. "Here's a summary of the experiment. I would prefer that you stay in your room with the nurse until you are recovered, at which point she will leave. After that, it would be best if you remain in the mansion for the duration. The other children will continue to attend school as normal, unless and until their status changes. You will be allowed free access to them and can keep them under your supervision. Any new effects are to be reported to me." He leans back in his chair, watching as Lex nods and opens the folder.

The first section is a description of Luc, medical history and statistics, weight and prior illnesses. At the end is a note on his previous exposure to xenorite, which goes on to detail something that... Lex's blood freezes. He looks back up at his father. "Mom?"

Lionel seems to know exactly what he's asking. "When the multiple myeloma reoccurred during her pregnancy, she refused traditional radiation or chemotherapy. We had seen what the xenorite did to you and some of the others, and thought it might be a treatment. But instead of strengthening her, it strengthened the cancer, making it much more malignant. That was when we first really started to learn about the carcinogenic effects of the meteorites." The honesty is shocking, and it would be intensely gratifying, if it weren't for the subject matter. Apparently Dad is going to keep his own end of the bargain, at least for now, and Lex abhors the fact that a thread of pleasure at that twines through the mass of anger and disgust inside him. Dad has placed blame for Mom's death on Luc all these years, and now he's admitting his own culpability in such clear tones.

Lex stares. "I hate you." The venom in his voice shocks him still, his desire for Dad's approval pushing him to feed the anger.

"Never hate your enemies. It makes you rash, and gives them power over you."

The anger cools and hardens inside him, coalescing and collapsing like a black hole, drawing everything else into it. "If I'm your enemy, then you had better hope that Luc doesn't get sick."

His father stares coldly back. "That folder is yours, Lex. Read over it all, and then you can make your plans." Then the tilt of a head, the sidelong glance, shows Lex that the audience is over. He hesitates a moment, but gathers up the folder eventually and walks out without further discussion.

He doesn't want to go back to his room, infested as it is with a stranger, and he wanders the halls for a while, then ends up in the nursery. It's a mess, as it often is. Lex thinks it was just cleaned yesterday, but it wasn't. It's hard to believe that something like four days are gone for him, that time slipped on, happening to other people, and he has no memories to go with it, he didn't do anything. How could he just be left out of the world? And then have all of it change on him?

There's the city of Troy, standing on a table in one corner as it has for half his life, and in the other corner the piano. The walls are still covered in Luc's colorful scrawls, and the shelves are full of well-worn books and Lian's little sculptures. But everything inside him is different. Lex sinks down into a deep beanbag chair, setting the blue folder on the ground beside him. He stares at the ceiling, trying not to think. It doesn't work. And so he picks up the folder and finishes reading it. At the end, he's less enlightened than he wished to be. It repeats many of the numbers on rates of cancer versus mutation, but doesn't go into details on any of the other mutations. He wonders where Dad got that data, what happened to all those other people. He wonders about his own file, and Lian's. He wonders why he's even accepting it so calmly, given how ludicrous and fantastic it all sounds.

The report also details what was put inside Luc. It's a small piece of meteorite. Apparently efforts to refine the substance haven't been very successful, and so it's just used directly. The chip of rock is about one inch long by half an inch on the two other planes, and much of it has been coated in lead to direct the radiation into tighter areas. Lex is not pleased to see that another toxic substance has been added to the first one.

The adaptations are supposed to happen fairly quickly. Lex doesn't think he noticed anything different about Luc, but if it's going to happen, it seems it'll happen soon. He shivers. It could be almost anything. He doesn't want to see his baby brother changed, turned into who knows what. He loves Luc just as he is, and Luc is being ripped away no matter what, and his father just expects him to accept it, aid and abet it. Not that it's necessarily awful to be mutated... What if Luc became like him, or like Lian? But it's a forced change, and Lex dreads that. He prefers to choose.

He reaches out, pushes along one of the toy cars on the floor. It's pale blue, and he thinks of his own car, his first car, out in the garage. It's a Porsche, and he adores it. He wants to just get in it and go, go far away and be free somehow, somewhere. But there isn't anywhere to go.

The toy car makes a few circuits of the beanbag, and Lex's mind winds down from thoughts of escape, not quite into acceptance, but into numbness. He can move through this situation, and he'll come out on the other side of it. He'll do absolutely everything he can to make sure that the same holds true for both his brothers.

Hell, maybe he'll even eat something now, because it won't do him any good to starve to death.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing Lex notices when he gets back to his room is the tray of food sitting on the bed. The second thing is the stack of magazines Sarah's reading from. He sighs.

"That's my porn. Which, I might add, was hidden in my old biology textbook. What the hell were you doing, trying to brush back up on the basics?"

"I wanted to know what they were teaching you in your schools these days," she says, shrugging.

He shakes his head. It's annoying, it's awkward, but it really doesn't matter. She doesn't matter. That issue isn't anywhere near as important as the other things he could think about.

Lex moves to the bed and sits down, examining the tray of breakfast. There's half a grapefruit, a bowl of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, and coffee. Maybe that's what people are supposed to eat when they've been sick, although he still has his doubts about the credentials of this nurse.

She's sitting in his chair, same as she's been pretty much the whole time since he first woke up, flicking through the pages of his magazines. Lex doesn't really care what she thinks of them, or thinks of him because of them. Her opinion isn't important to him. The things he's minded her seeing are things no one should see. This is something he's fine with. Dad even knows about it. What annoys him is just the fact that she's still in his room, still in his chair, still in his books, when he doesn't want her to be.

He wants coffee, but the smell of it turns his stomach. It's too strong. So instead he takes a few sips of juice. It tastes sour, reminds him of the bile from last night. He's never noticed that taste before. He's never had reason to.

As he picks up a slice of cold buttered toast, she breaks the silence again. "I was expecting these to be typical stupid guy stuff, but these women are actually attractive."

"I'm glad they meet with your approval."

She shrugs, and Lex can't even tell whether she's responding to the sarcasm or not. He takes a bite of toast. It's dry and cool and sticks in his mouth, but the instant he swallows it he's aware again of just how starved he is, and he eats the rest quickly, settling back into the corner.

"This one redhead is really hot." She holds the magazine up, pages spread toward him, showing off a picture of a woman holding her own breasts. It's one of the large centerfolds, and it's a classy picture overall, with a beautiful woman. "And shockingly, they all look like they're actually enjoying everything they do."

"Quality's important in a purchase." He picks up the next piece of toast, starts to chew it a little slower than the last one.

"And those are quality breasts." She smiles.

That figures. Dad had probably known when he hired her, made sure of it. Lex starts spooning the oatmeal into his mouth. It's bland and tasteless and that makes it one of the best things he can imagine at the moment. Sarah goes back to admiring the women, and Lex finishes off his breakfast, then pulls out his calculus textbook and starts trying to read the next chapter, finally braving small sips of the coffee.

Halfway through, there's a tentative knock at the door. Both of them look up at it, and Sarah starts to rise, but Lex gestures angrily at her and gets up himself. When he opens the door, Lian is standing there.

"You're supposed to be in school." At first Lex says it chidingly, then by the end of the sentence he's begun to worry that something's happened. Before he can ask, Lian answers.

"I was. Then I ran home. It was boring."

Lex blinks slowly. "So nothing's wrong?"

"I just wanted to be with you."

Normally Lex would lecture Lian about living up to his responsibilities. Today he's glad that his brother is playing hooky. Lian must see the relaxing tension in his shoulders, the softening of his eyes, because he ducks under Lex's arm and into the room. Lex starts to shut the door.

"Hey! How come she gets to read the forbidden magazines?"

Sarah looks up, expression wary, as Lex turns around. "Because she's an adult," he answers. She rolls her eyes, as if to indicate that Lex isn't.

"But you said I wasn't a little kid anymore." Lian shakes his hair back from his face and sets his arms defiantly as he heads over toward the chairs in the corner.

Lex sighs. "Okay, fine, be that way. If you want to read them, you can, but I doubt you'll like them." If he isn't protecting Lian from the knowledge of what Dad's doing just now, why should he try to keep him from learning more about sex? Besides, someone would show him something like this soon, if they haven't already, and it's best for Lex to explain these things himself. He knows that. He finally admits that this process is inevitable, because he's just too tired to deny it any longer. He's not going to be able to keep them from growing up. Sarah watches, eyebrow raised, as Lian sits down in the other armchair and picks up the top magazine from the pile on the table. He stares thoughtfully at the cover for a second, the close-up picture of a woman's hipbone, then opens the magazine in the middle. His mouth is twisted and his eyebrows lowered in concentration.

Lex moves over to stand behind him, leaning on the high back of the chair and staring at the pages over the top of Lian's head. There's a picture of a man and a woman having sex, her legs around his waist, his face buried in her breasts.

"People like all this?" Lian asks.

"Yes. People have sex because it feels good. And they read things like these because they enjoy thinking about it enough to get part of that feeling."

Humming thoughtfully, Lian turns the page. Lex crosses his arms and leans in closer, pressing the back of a hand against Lian's head. There are two women, one going down on the other. Lian taps the picture of the woman receiving head. "So she's enjoying this?"

"Quite a lot." Lex watches as Lian's finger traces the arch of the woman's neck and runs across her gasping mouth. Lian nods.

"What about the other woman? Is she having fun, too?"

"Oh, yes. It can be very fun to do that to someone else." He notices Sarah leaning over slightly to see what they're looking at, trying not to laugh.

Lian turns the pages, flicking past an interview with a famous porn star, not even trying to read it, and now Lex has to snicker at the stereotypical cliche. There's actually a lot of good fiction and information in here, but he knows the feeling. Then there's a picture of one man giving another a blowjob. Lex holds his breath for a second.

"This is the same thing?" Lian asks.

"Same kind of thing."

"Also fun to do?"

Lex looks at the man kneeling on the floor. "Also fun to do." He sees Sarah shake her head out of the corner of his eye. "Well, it depends on the person. Different people like different things. But everything in here is fun for someone, fun for the people doing it."

Lian touches the frozen smile of the man receiving. "And this guy likes it."

"It feels really good."

"How good?"

"Better than running really fast."

"But you can't... Um." Lian's eyes flicker to Sarah, then back to the page. "Better than those strawberries we had when we were in the mountains?"

"Better than mountain strawberries."

Lian shakes his head. "It doesn't seem like it would."

"Maybe it wouldn't now, but it will eventually." Lex ruffles Lian's hair with his palm. When he lets go Lian grimaces and reaches up to smooth his floppy strands back into place.

Lian turns another page, and there's a man with his ass in the air, being rimmed by a woman. "Lex..." Lex waits. "Have you done that?"

"Yeah."

"Ew, Lex! That's licking someone's butt."

He shrugs. "Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do." The aghast expression on Lian's face as he twists around is hilarious. That's what he gets for ignoring Lex's advice and reading porn anyway. His eyes are huge and green as he just stares for a minute.

"I am never sharing a candy bar with you again."

That's the kind of threat Lian will have forgotten in half an hour, and Lex snorts. He looks over enough to see Sarah pointedly not watching them. Good. Lian turns to a picture of a man urinating on a bound woman, and as he starts to open his mouth, Lex cuts him off. "No. Not my kind of thing." That is, of course, the problem with a magazine that he picked to subscribe to because it has everything: it has everything.

Lian stares harder at the picture. "I don't get it."

"You get used to that." He pauses for a second, running his fingers along the back of Lian's neck. "It's just... Once you start doing something, the rest gets easier."

"Oh. Well, I've started."

"...What?"

Lian doesn't look up, but keeps examining the picture. Lex stares at the top of Lian's head, the curl of hair over skin. "I kissed Amanda Delcourt. I mean, she kissed me."

"Really? When? How?" And why didn't Lian mention it before? Lex is supposed to know these sorts of things. How can he keep the family running smoothly if he doesn't know what's going on?

"A couple weeks ago. She followed me around all day and kept bugging me. I finally let her kiss me to make her shut up. She did, and then she giggled and ran away and she hasn't bothered me since."

"How was it?"

"She just stuck her mouth on my lips." Lian shakes his head. "It was... mouth-like. But it made her leave me alone."

"You don't ever have to do something like that if you don't want to."

"Derrick's big brother says guys always want to."

Figures. He would say that. Lex reaches down and grabs the magazine, lifting it over Lian's shoulder, closing it and dropping it back onto the pile on the table. That's enough outside influences for one go. "Lian... Derrick's big broth-"

"I know, I know, 'is an idiot.' I'm not supposed to listen to anything he says."

"So why were you telling him stuff like this?"

Lian turns all the way around in the chair, kneeling on it, arms resting across Lex's, bringing their faces just a few inches apart. "I wasn't. I was at Derrick's house, and he was teasing me about it, and his brother heard. Obviously."

That makes more sense. Lex has a fleeting thought about warning Lian not to listen if Derrick starts talking about anything like circle jerks, but he quashes it before he can follow it too far. That's just a wrong image. Instead he nods and changes the subject. "Did they give you anything to bring home to me from school? My classwork?"

Lian looks confused for a second, then nods. "Yeah. I've got a bunch of stuff in my room."

"Then go get it. And bring your own stuff, too. You can do your homework in here."

"But, Lex..." His name is pulled out long, stretching across multiple syllables. Lex just stares. "I can't..." Lian glances at Sarah for a second, and Lex follows his gaze. She appears firmly ensconced in a book, and it's not one of the porn magazines anymore. "Can't I just do it in my room?" In here, Lian can't race through it at top speed. Lex is condemning him to hours of working, clock-time, instead of the ten minutes he'd prefer. That means less free time to play.

"You said you came home from school because you wanted to be with me. So now you get to be with me."

Lian huffs petulantly, and Lex can feel the warm breath in his face. But his brother gets up and leaves anyway, and Lex retreats to his bed and his calculus textbook to wait. A few minutes later Lian returns and heavily drops a thick manila envelope beside Lex. He sits down in the middle of the floor, back to Lex, shoulders set, and spreads his books and papers out around him. Lex suppresses a sigh and starts to leaf through the pages in the envelope. There's nothing else to do. Luc won't be home for a few hours yet. He attends half-day kindergarten at a Montessori school, rather than the prestigious prep academy Lex and Lian are at, and that's just another sign of Lionel's contempt.

Lex reads through the lists of assignments and notes for calculus, chemistry, philosophy, English, French, art history, and government. He's missing a group presentation in art history today, and there's a special essay assignment to make up for that. He'll also have to endure Jessica Tran's wrath over it.

Jessica Tran's wrath, legendary at school, pales beside what Lionel Luthor can do. This coming week is spring break, luckily for Dad's timing, so if everyone's still alive after the next few days, he can even get caught up with homework. Now that midterms are over, it should be an easy slide to the end of the year and graduation, and he doesn't even have to take any final exams if he keeps his grades up where they are. After that, well... He dumps the contents of the envelope off to the side and picks up Confucius from his table to start with.

A few minutes later, his arms are pushed aside and Lian flops down on his stomach atop Lex's crossed legs, pulling a pillow up under his chin and propping his math textbook against another.

Lex grins and balances his book on Lian's shoulders. He spreads the fingers of his left hand out over the skin at the small of Lian's back, pushing the edge of his shirt up and tracing his thumb over the line of spine. He can feel Lian's muscles relaxing and tensing as he turns pages.

"Explain the Pythagorean Theorem," Lian demands.

Lex glances down, leaning over to see the pages of Lian's book. He taps it with the edge of The Analects. "It explains that right here."

"I know. I just read that bit. I want you to do it."

"What part doesn't make sense?"

"The part where you haven't explained it yet." Lian shrugs, and it ripples down his back.

Lex is never going to get any of his work done if he has to do all of Lian's first, but right now he really doesn't care. He laughs. "You do know what a right triangle is?"

"Yeah, one that hasn't been left behind."

"Exactly, because when they're too bratty the other triangles just ditch them. So if you look at the hypotenuse..."

Two hours later, Lex hasn't gotten any work done, and neither has Lian, really. They discuss triangles for a while, and then circles, and then they play cards and talk about Renaissance painting. Although considering that conversation ends with Lex married to an Italian princess, it isn't the most factual study session ever. Eventually he sends Lian off to the nursery to eat lunch with Luc, who should have returned from school by then. Lex himself eats lunch in his room with Sarah, who's gone back to not talking to him. He doesn't mind that at all.

He feels enough better that he actually enjoys his food, and he gets a little more reading in while waiting for his brothers to come back. He's still insanely worried, but he's become used to feeling that way, and there's no point in going out of his mind completely.


	7. Chapter 7

Luc is sulky when Lian returns with him in tow. Lex is sprawled out with his head at the foot of his bed, staring out the window, contemplating the ability to actually go outside again someday. He rolls over onto his side and looks up when the door opens. Lian is holding Luc's hand, but he lets go and moves away from him as soon as they're inside the room. Luc runs over as Lex sits up.

"Hey, baby. How was school?"

Luc climbs up and snuggles in against Lex's chest. "Full of babies. All stupid, noisy, and disobdebient." He wrinkles his nose.

"Disobedient, huh? Well, that's bad of them." Lex wraps his arms around Luc, pulling him closer.

The sound of Lian's voice causes Lex to look up. "I'm going to hang out with my friends. Bye." Lian turns and heads for the door again.

"Wait, Lian, don't..." But he doesn't stop, just opens the door and disappears out into the hallway. Lex stretches out his hand. "Be careful."

He stares at the door as it swings closed. Lian's not supposed to leave like that. He's clearly annoyed and petulant now, after easing up this morning. But Lex can't go after him. He strokes Luc's shoulder and looks down again.

"I guess it's just us now, baby." He tries to act as if Sarah isn't even there. She's reading again. He's actually starting to get creeped out by her ability to remain so engrossed and still for so long.

"Lian disobdebiment, too." Luc frowns. "He not listen."

"Nah, baby, he's not being bad. He's allowed to go out. Just leave him be, for now."

"Lex listen?" Luc peers up at him, one chubby little hand pressing against Lex's cheek.

"I'll always listen to you." Lex smiles. He's feeling calmer and happier now. Here's Luc, and it's another day, and his baby brother seems fine still. "Can I check your warrior wound again, baby?" He turns Luc around, crooning softly. "You're so brave. You're going to be fine." The cut looks better, healing, no visible infection.

"She stupid." Luc points at Sarah. "She leave?" Sarah glances up at the two of them, face blank.

Lex shakes his head. "She can't leave. She has to stay here, or I won't stop being sick." He stares back at Sarah, trying to see how she reacts to that. She tilts her head slightly, as if acknowledging his scrutiny, but that's all. He keeps watching her, even though, out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Luc is looking at him.

"Sick bad. Read horsie?"

"Are you sure you don't want to learn about Confucius instead? Or Pythagoras?"

"Horsie!" Luc grabs Lex around the neck, and Lex has to ignore Sarah in order to peel his arms off.

He pulls out the book and tells Luc the story, but he keeps watching her, sitting there ignoring them, and he wonders whether there's any way to get through that and to the truth.

Luc's nursemaid shows up a while later, wanting to take Luc for his nap, and Lex feels a stab of anger and fear. He glares up at her from where they're sitting on the floor, coloring. "I'm supposed to be able to have him. Ask my father if you doubt me."

"He needs his nap."

"He can nap here. You want that, baby?"

Luc clutches Lex's arm, crumpling his drawing between them. "Want Lex! No leave!"

She looks at them, opening her mouth, then closing it. Her expression softens. "Alright. But don't expect to make it a habit."

So Lex gets to keep Luc with him for the rest of the day. He sits and does his work while his baby sleeps, listening to the small whine of Luc's breath and watching his side rise and fall. Then he tells Luc about the horsie again, and they draw some more, and eat dinner. Lian doesn't reappear, and Lex wonders but isn't too worried about it. When the nursemaid comes back later in the evening, she says that Lian's home, and Lex finally lets Luc go because it's his bedtime, even though Luc protests. Lex doesn't want him to leave, wants to keep him there forever and hold on to him, shield him from anything in the world with his own body and make sure Luc is eternally safe and happy, but he sends him off to his own room anyway. Luc needs to sleep, and keeping him here won't affect anything.

Once he's gone Lex sighs, tense, and decides he's ready for a change of pace.

He gets the special box from the drawer of his bedside table and pulls out a joint. As he lights it, Sarah looks at him. She laughs.

"Oh, that's going to be good for your recovery."

"Whatever." He takes a long drag, holding it and then breathing out slowly, sinking back against his pillows. "How many years of nurse school did you need to learn that?"

"A lot." She sounds sarcastic, which is good. It's not bland.

"Look. Forget..." He tilts his head to read the title of the book she's holding. "Forget the Mabinogion." He gestures to the other side of the bed, scooting closer to the wall, holding out the joint. For a moment he thinks she'll say no, and he doesn't really care, but then she sets the book aside and comes over, sitting awkwardly on the edge of his bed. But when she puffs on the joint, he can tell she knows what she's doing.

Lex smiles at her. "I knew you couldn't really be that boring. Even I don't spend that much time reading."

"Like there's anything else to do while cooped up in here with you and those kids?"

"You knew what the job was when you accepted it. That's more choice than I got." She hands him the joint again, and he takes a few more drags. "You could've played cards with us or something."

"You didn't invite me."

He stares at her speculatively. "That's true, I didn't. Well, consider yourself invited to everything now."

"Even the cuddling on the bed?" She accepts the joint from him again, and laughs softly.

"You're here now."

"I am. So don't get any ideas."

"I'm a complete gentleman." He spreads his arms out, looking innocent.

"Well then, tell me, why is Derrick's big brother such an idiot?"

Lex keeps his face calm. "Oh, there was this story that went around a while ago about how he wasn't straight enough to turn down a blowjob from some guy, but was much too straight to be gracious about it afterward. Also, he'd been cheating on his math tests. The rumors were so ubiquitous that even the teachers heard them."

"And you had nothing to do with that, of course." She doesn't sound convinced.

"Of course not. I heard about it from Felicia Palmer, just like everyone else." He raises an eyebrow, then smirks briefly, taking the joint back again. "Rumor mills at small schools have some very interesting structures. And Derrick is Lian's best friend, so. I have to protect my brother from bad influences."

"Like porn."

"That was... not typical." He has a few more drags, and the joint is getting low. "Do you have any siblings?"

"An older sister." She accepts the joint from him again, and when she passes it back it's about killed. Lex takes one last drag, feeling the heat of the burning tip singe the edges of his fingers as he sucks it in, not caring about the minor pain. He drops it on the ceramic tile inside the open lid of the wooden box on the table, leaving it there to fade out and cool down.

"Then you wouldn't understand." He's only mildly buzzed, heavy-feeling and slow, gone introspective instead of giddy. At least the thoughts are further away, wrapped in wool and unable to hurt so much as they jounce around inside his skull. "They don't stay little and harmless forever."

Sliding over, Sarah swings her legs up and turns so that she's leaning back against the wall next to him rather than perched on the edge of the bed. "My niece is three. I kinda know."

Lex shakes his head, because it's not the same at all, but he doesn't argue. "Are you from Metropolis?" He wants to know more about her, get a better handle on the situation.

She nods. "Born and raised."

"So, did you go to nurse school here or somewhere else?"

Sarah laughs. "Yes, I did both undergraduate and nursing school at MetU."

Lex is looking in her direction, but he isn't looking at her, he's looking at the window on the far side of the room, staring at the black panes, wondering what's out there tonight. Wondering if someone's looking in. "That's where I'll be next year. I got into other, better schools," pretty much the whole Ivy League, he doesn't say, "but I can't go anywhere far away." Lex had known that already, and Dad had made him apply to other schools anyway. But in the end, he couldn't make Lex attend those schools. Besides, MetU has a building named after Lex's maternal grandfather. Even though the Luthors and the Lucases have almost nothing to do with each other anymore in a personal way, Lionel can't fault MetU too much without losing face. "Business and chemistry, is the plan," Lex says dreamily, gaze shifting from the window to the wall, following the bumps of a mountain range in one of Luc's drawings hung there.

"Aren't you sixteen?" Sarah asks.

Lex chuckles. "I'm graduating a year early. Didn't anyone tell you? I'm a genius." He waves his hand in an excessively, elaborately arrogant gesture.

Rolling her eyes, Sarah laughs again, and that sets Lex off. Maybe he is a little giddy after all. "Oh, I should have known."

"I thought it would be obvious from my library."

She laughs even harder. "Actually, you do have a lot of fancy books with big words. It's impressive. Trying to find anything fun in there is the hard part."

"You're not a total lightweight, judging from some of the stuff you did pick." Lex slides further down the bed until he's more laying than sitting, pushing his pillow back into the wall. Sarah follows suit, using one of the extra pillows.

"Thanks. That means a lot, coming from a certified genius and all." She's become friendly, teasing.

"I should show you the certificate some time. It's really fancy." Lex is aware that he's starting to flirt with her, and he doesn't bother to stop. It's habitual. He's not actually all that interested, but through the low haze in his mind he's aware that she's pretty, and it might be a way to knock events into another course. If he makes a move she'll either say yes or no. If she says yes, she might reveal more of the truth to him, give him another card in his hand in this game Dad's playing that Lex doesn't think is any fun. If she says no, it might rattle her enough to do the same, or get rid of her.

"I'll bet," she replies.

They fall silent for a while. Lex looks at her. Big brown eyes, high cheekbones, a wide mouth, honey strands of hair falling around her face. If she were just some girl, he'd definitely be interested, but she's enigmatic and quite possibly dangerous. While that's a thrill as well, there's too much riding on this for it to really excite him.

He leans in to kiss her, letting his eyelids droop down but not closing them all the way. She puts up a hand and he never reaches her lips.

"No." Sarah shakes her head softly. "You're okay, for a teenage boy, but just no."

That was what Lex expected.

She doesn't appear rattled though. He wonders whether being so unflappable is proof that she's a spy, or whether it's proof that she's a real nurse, a good and unbribeable one. He remembers throwing up and her not responding. He remembers her asking if he wanted food. He doesn't know what to think.

She sits up again, back straight, and Lex stays lying where he is, staring at the ceiling.

Maybe, if he weren't a Luthor, he wouldn't distrust everyone in the world. But he is, and he does. His own father is the biggest threat of all, but outsiders must always be kept at a safe distance.

Sarah runs a hand through her hair nervously. "I hope that it... that whatever has you so worried works out."

Lex doesn't answer.

He's regretting trying to kiss her, because it's made him even more maudlin and gained him nothing. He's been over his head this entire time, completely foiled by Dad at every turn, treading water in a raging river, just barely able to keep from drowning. He's accomplished nothing, won at nothing. He probably shouldn't have let himself smoke up, either, because now his thoughts are wobbling, inchoate. That's what Dad's always said, that a clear head is important, that distraction and delusions lead to tactical errors. Dad doesn't always follow his own dictums, though, and anyway Lex is never sure whether obeying Dad's advice is actually the best way to beat him. Can the master's tools ever really dismantle the master's house?

Lex is trapped in that house, and it's a house of mirrors, shifting and blinding him, with no exit. There's nothing to do but wait, and the waiting is killing him, no actions he can take that will solve anything. He rolls over and buries his face in the pillow, feeling helpless and impotent. Eventually Sarah moves away, going back to the armchair. Lex falls asleep a while later.

When he wakes up it's early Saturday morning, the first light of dawn creeping in the window, and Sarah and all her stuff are gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Lex drowses for a little while longer, because he's still tired, still wiped out from all this. When it's brighter out he finally gets up, takes a shower, gets dressed, and then, hesitantly, peers through the keyhole of the door. He hadn't seen anyone outside the window, and he doesn't see anyone in the narrow strip of visible hall, nor does he hear anything out there. He opens the door slowly, and no one comes to stop him.

Lex pads down the hall on slippered feet, as quietly as possible. When he nears the nursery he catches the sound of cartoons from inside, Bugs Bunny bragging about how he can't be caught. He walks in, and there's Lian sprawled out across a beanbag chair, chin in his hands, feet kicking the air behind him as he laughs, a huge bowl of cereal and glass of juice in front of him. He turns, and Lex puts a finger to his lips, and Lian grins even harder, but doesn't say anything. Lex still isn't sure that he's allowed to be out and about.

Lian rolls over, making room, and Lex joins him on the beanbag, sitting down cross-legged. Lian curls up against him, head on Lex's knee, clutching Lex's leg. Lex runs a hand through Lian's hair, parting and brushing the dark strands over the nape of Lian's neck. Whatever mood Lian was in yesterday to make him run off is clearly gone now, and he's being extra clingy again. Lian's mood changes are swift and mercurial. Lex is glad of this new one, because he appreciates having Lian want to be this close. He needs to know where Lian is, know that Lian is safe, and being able to touch him reassures Lex. Elmer Fudd falls into a hole while chasing Bugs, and Lex leans down to whisper in Lian's ear.

"Where's Luc?"

"He's still asleep," Lian whispers back, and Lex can barely hear him over the TV. "I looked in his room earlier."

"Good. You're doing good." Lex sits back up, runs a soothing hand down Lian's back as Bugs dodges a multitude of rifle shots. He stares down at Lian's profile, perfectly-turned nose, pointed white teeth in broad smile, brilliant green eyes trained on the technicolor action. "Where did you go yesterday?"

"To the park until everyone got out of school, then Derrick's house." Lian's breath is warm and damp against Lex's jeans. "Then Rosie's house, because she was having a birthday party."

"Did you take her a present?"

"Yeah. Derrick wanted to give her a box of worms, but I bought her a book." He pauses. "About worms." There's another pause, and then Lian turns his head, gazing up at Lex. "Derrick likes her." His disgusted emphasis on the word 'like' makes Lex have to suppress laughter. Lian's middle school gossip is so ludicrous. Frowning slightly, Lian rolls over even further until he's lying on his back, and Lex slides his right hand around to Lian's stomach. "What's so funny?"

Lifting his left hand from his side, Lex traces his thumb over Lian's cheekbone. "Nothing, really. Did the book have lots of pictures?"

Lian smiles again. "Awesome ones, really detailed."

"Well, maybe it will inspire her to go into biology. There are too few women scientists." Lian doesn't seem to get the joke. He twists his neck to the side to look at the TV again, but stays in his new position. The credits are starting to roll for the cartoon, but Lex knows another one will start in a minute. "Did you see Dad at all yesterday?" Lian shakes his head minutely, mumbling something that sounds like 'nuh uh.' Lex runs his fingers through Lian's hair thoughtfully.

He wonders if there is something he can do after all. He's sure Dad didn't give him all the pertinent information. In fact, he knows Dad didn't. Lex hasn't gotten a glimpse of Lian's file, didn't even see Lian's name or any description that fit him in the lists of xenorite mutations, for one thing. He could get Lian to sneak into Dad's office and search for more of the files.

The only problem is that he has no idea where Dad keeps the files. They could be anywhere in the office, or even somewhere else. It's clear that Dad has whole laboratories devoted to this. Nothing related to it can possibly be anywhere that's easy to find. And Lian isn't exactly subtle most of the time. If Lex sends him in without very specific instructions on where to look, he'd leave far too much evidence of tampering, tear the whole place apart.

He's only a kid, and Lex still wants to keep him innocent.

Tom and Jerry appear on the screen, the cat and mouse chasing each other wildly through the house.

Lex glances around the nursery, so glad to be looking at someplace other than his bedroom, even if it is just here. He had been told to stay in his own room until all this was over, even after he got better. He doesn't know exactly what Sarah's disappearance means, whether it had anything to do with his actions last night or whether it had already been scheduled. It's a relief, though, and he hopes she stays gone.

He leans over Lian's form and grabs up the glass of orange juice, taking a long sip and not tasting anything bad in it, just fruit, which is so much better than it had been the other day. Setting it down, he picks up the bowl of cereal and takes a bite. It's way too sweet, some sugary marshmallow crap, but Lex is hungry, so he has another bite. He has no idea how Lian can stand to go back and forth from sweet cereal to sour juice.

"Don't you dare eat all my cereal," Lian says.

Lex laughs and takes one more spoonful. The door behind him swings open, and he hears a high-pitched shriek. The bowl jounces in his hand as he flinches, milk spilling onto the front of his t-shirt.

"Bad Lian!" Luc screams.

A wave of revulsion rolls over Lex and he drops the bowl beside him, letting it splatter all over the rug, the beanbag, himself. He shoves at Lian, pushes him away, and Lian rolls off, dazed and staring. Lex can't stand to have Lian touching him right now, isn't even sure he wants Lian looking at him. Lian should just go away.

Suddenly Luc is in his lap, small arms wrapping around Lex's neck. "Mine," Luc huffs loudly into Lex's ear. Lex holds on tight to his baby. Everything is right again, everything is happy, and he doesn't want anything more than this.

He can hear the nursemaid behind him, saying something, but he's not sure what at first through the joy buzzing in his ears. Then he turns around, still clutching at Luc.

"Luc, you haven't had your breakfast yet. Come to breakfast," she's saying.

"Go away," Luc tells her, petulant.

A look of fear crosses her face.

"My Lex," Luc says, still staring at his nurse. "You take Lian away."

"Hey!" Lian yells.

Lex wants that more than anything, wants for her and Lian to go away and leave him with Luc. He knows that doesn't make sense. There's no reason for him to want that, and logic wars with emotion inside him.

"Stupid Lian no listen," Luc hisses. He stares at the nursemaid again and Lex follows his gaze. The nursemaid looks even more scared now. Suddenly she turns and leaves, running as if something's chasing her. Luc snuggles closer to Lex, ignoring the spilled milk on Lex's chest. Lex is completely happy with that.

Lex looks over at Lian, who's backed into the far side of the room, face queasy. Is he just responding to the meteorite in Luc's back or is it something else?

The TV's still on, and Lex grabs up the remote, turns it off. He buries his face in Luc's hair, smelling his baby's soft warmth, totally content.

"Read horsie?" Luc whimpers.

Lex is excited by the suggestion. He would love to read to Luc about the horsie.

No, there's definitely something wrong with that. Lex puts up with the horsie because Luc likes it so much, but the prospect of reciting the story again is never an exciting one. Why is he feeling this wave of anticipation and desire? He wants to start talking about the horsie right now and never stop, because it's the best thing ever.

Lex doesn't care how much he wants to do it, he refuses. He has some self-control, after all, and this is clearly messed up.

He stares down at Luc, who stares back at him with wide, impatient blue eyes, round face framed in cherubic red curls.

"I'll tell you horsie soon, baby. First you have to tell me what you're doing."

"Horsie now."

Desire to tell the story surges though him again and Lex fights with it. He's not that weak. He knows how to delay gratification, how to prioritize. Dad always says Lex sucks at that, but Dad is wrong.

"Baby," Lex puts his hands up, grasping Luc's face, fingers spreading across Luc's cheeks, "I'll read you horsie in a minute. Just tell me what you're doing, and then let me look at your warrior wound again, okay?"

"You want to read horsie. I know you do." Luc's voice is firm, confident.

Lex nods. "Yes, I want to read you horsie. I always want to read you horsie."

"No, not always want. Lex not always read. Yessertay, not want to read."

He sighs. "I read you horsie yesterday."

"But not want to read." Luc nods sagely. "I know."

There's a motion in the side of his vision and Lex turns to see Lian walking toward them. Luc turns as well, frowns. Lex is still angry at Lian, though he doesn't know why, angry at everything Lian's done. Lian is disobedient and nasty, and he's been being so difficult lately. Lex wants him to stay away. He scowls.

"Lian bad," Luc says. "Lian not listen. Tell him."

Lian keeps approaching, his eyes narrowed in pain as he gets closer. He stops just a foot away, staring at the two of them. Lex doesn't like that. Lian's proximity is itching at him, clawing at his personal space the way Sarah's presence in his room did, an intruder.

It's wrong. Lex has never felt that way about Lian before in his life. Luc's arms clutch tighter at Lex's neck.

"Make Lian go away," Luc whines into Lex's ear.

Lex grips Luc's chin harder in his right hand, stretching out his left toward Lian. The feeling of disgust overwhelms him, and he pauses, his fingers hovering an inch from Lian's arm.

"What are you doing to him?" Lian growls. He reaches out, catches Lex's hand, and Lex can't stand it, yanks it away. Lian doesn't let go. The force of the motion pulls at Lex's fingers, sends a twinge of pain through him. The wave of disgust fights with the pain as Lex tugs, trying to free himself from Lian's grasp. It's futile. Lian is far too strong for Lex to get away, always has been. The new emotions clouding his brain hold him just as captive as Lian's grip, and Lex is unable to dissipate them. For a second he imagines letting go of Luc instead, trying to push his baby away. Then he's swamped by guilt and remorse for even thinking such a thing, so strongly that he forgets for an instant the hurt in his hand.

That makes him jerk even harder, and he hears his bones grind together sickeningly. It's only been a few seconds since this tug of war started, but Lex can't take it anymore.

"Stop it," Luc cries to Lian. "You hurt him."

"No, you are, you little brat," Lian yells back.

"Both of you stop it," Lex says, surprised to hear how calm and commanding his voice is. He shuts his eyes, breathing deeply. "Lian, let go of me. Luc, you let go of me, too."

Lian's grasp slips away and Lex's hand drops down, falling against his side. He slowly flexes his fingers, to make sure he still can, and releases Luc's face with his other hand. Luc lets go of him and stands up. Lex opens his eyes again. Both of his brothers are standing in front of him, with tension almost visible in the space between them, anger and repressed pain burning in Lian's eyes, petulant annoyance showing on Luc's face. Luc looks very small next to Lian when they stand like that.

The uncontrollable emotions are gone, leaving Lex feeling still and peaceful. And also annoyed, but it's a clean, natural sort of annoyance, fully his own.

He smiles stiffly at Luc. "Okay, baby, tell me what's going on. What are you doing to me?"

Luc's eyelashes flutter as he glances at the floor, and his chin wobbles. "Want horsie."

Lex sighs. He's sickeningly certain that he knows what's happening a lot better than Luc does. Luc may not even be aware of what he's doing. Lex could feel it, though, and the nurse's and Lian's responses confirm it. This is it. It's begun.

There were a number of entries in the files that involved mental powers and manipulations, a man who could make people obey him, a woman with control over her sex pheromones, and more. Luc is somehow, unbelievable as it seems, able to make people experience certain emotions.

Shaking his head slowly, Lex reaches out and gently brushes Luc's hair from his forehead, grasping his chin and tilting his face so that he has to look directly at Lex, ignoring the continued pain in his hand as he moves it. There are tears gathering in the corners of Luc's eyes, and Lex feels a pang in his heart, an entirely normal one. He catches a salty drop with the tip of his thumb as it starts to streak across Luc's face, and Luc sniffles. Lex takes a deep breath.

"Are you affecting my emotions?"

"Lex sad. And angry."

"Not at you, baby. I'm angry at someone else." It's true. This is something Dad will definitely exploit one day, the way he's been planning to with Lian's abilities, as well. It's exactly the kind of outcome that made the risk of Luc dying worth it in Dad's eyes. Now Luc is no longer just the sickly, stupid child. He's a tool of espionage and manipulation. The possibilities flash, sharp and new, through Lex's mind. He strokes his hand across Luc's cheek again, and Luc shivers.

That's when Lex realizes how warm Luc's skin feels, how pinkly flushed he is. Oh, shit. Luc's chin wobbles even more, most likely in response to the new stab of fear Lex is feeling. He presses the back of his hand to Luc's forehead, and that clinches it. Luc is clearly too hot.

"Lex..." Lian asks softly. "What is it?"

The task of explaining anything to either of them weighs far too heavily, pressing Lex down into the ground. He tugs at Luc, slowly pulling his baby into his lap. Luc settles down but then balks as he leans against Lex. "Wet."

Remembering the spilled milk, Lex grimaces. "I'll go clean up again soon. Let me tell you a story first." He gestures, and Lian sits down in front of him, too, though a little ways off. "See, baby, something's happening to you. Lian and I have been through it as well, but the effects are different. There's a... there's a piece of meteorite that's been put inside you, that's a rock that fell from the sky. And it's gone into you like the horsie went into the city, and let out radiation like a bunch of little men, and if the men went around and painted all the buildings in the city, and planted gardens, they'd change it, and they could make it better, and that's what's happening to you." Lex's throat closes up for a second, and he pauses, trying not to be afraid. "You were special already, and now you'll be even more special."

Luc stares at him thoughtfully. "Who? Who put rock?"

"Dad." Lex's voice falters as he says it. He feels Luc stiffen in his arms. Luc's hands clutch tightly at the back of Lex's neck.

"Lex angry at Dad," Luc whispers. "Lex scared."

"I'm not scared. There's nothing to be scared of."

"Not lie." Luc's voice is sharp and firm.

"You're going to get sick," Lian cuts in.

Lex makes a shushing noise at Lian. Lian can't say that. It can't be true. Luc turns his head to look at Lian as well. "Lian bad," he answers. "Lian no listen." Lian glares back defiantly at both Lex and Luc. Lex waits for Luc to cry, to wail, to pitch a fit like he always does when there's mention of sickness. That doesn't occur.

"No, I don't listen to you," Lian answers.

"But you listen to me," Lex replies. Lian's eyes shine brilliantly as he stares unresponsively at Lex. The situation is spiraling even more out of control, and Lex has to get it back in hand, fast.

Turning back, Luc tugs the collar of Lex's shirt. "Lian empy. No mind. Lex full of emshuns. Lex listen, but Lian no listen."

Lex suddenly realizes what Luc's saying, strange as it is. His baby can sense emotions, can cause people to feel whatever he wants, but for some reason he can't sense anything from Lian. Also, Luc is being shockingly calm during discussions of Dad and sickness, while Lex is still reeling at the prospect of Luc being feverish, at the prospect that he isn't safe and finished yet, that he might succumb to radiation still. Figuring out the extent of Luc's abilities and the details of what's going on with Lian will have to wait. What Lex has to do now is make sure that Luc survives, because he still cannot even contemplate the prospect of it being otherwise, of a world without his baby brother.

What he has to do now is another one of those distasteful necessities, another moment of selling his soul. He has to contact Dad and inform him of this new development. Has to hope that Dad's scientists and doctors can keep Luc healthy.

"Baby, don't complain about that now, okay? We're going to go to my room, I'll read you horsie."

"Horsie!" Luc grins, everything always made better like magic by the horsie.

"I do so have a mind," Lian huffs, folding his arms over his chest.

Setting Luc down on the ground, Lex stands up, grabbing Luc's hand in his and leading him toward the door. Lian stays put until Lex turns his head and gestures with his chin, and then Lian trots grumpily along behind them.

"Hungy," Luc grumbles once they've safely gotten inside Lex's door.

Lian stomps to the far side of the room, throws himself down in a chair. "Me, too. You guys ruined my breakfast."

Throwing up his arms, Lex calls to order breakfast for everyone from the kitchen, and then changes his shirt and wipes himself off with a washcloth to clean the spilled milk, while Luc pesters him about reading horsie. Luckily, Lex doesn't feel anything that seems like an unnatural desire to read the story. Maybe Luc has calmed down and is behaving himself. Maybe Luc is getting sick and weak. Lex hopes it's the former.

He sits at the foot of his bed - he's so tired of being in bed - leaning against the wall, and Luc comes and curls up on his lap. Lex is relieved and happy about that, his own relief and happiness, and he's glad that hasn't been affected. He doesn't ever want to lose this feeling or start to be suspicious of it for being too facile. Lian continues to sulk on the other side of the room and Lex says nothing to him about it. It isn't worth the bother at the moment.

He's only just begun with the story of the horsie when one of the maids knocks with breakfast, cereal for Luc, eggs and toast for Lex, servings of both for Lian, the bottomless pit of appetite that he's always been only increased now as his growth speeds up. Lex moves himself and Luc to the floor to eat and continues with the story until the brave warriors of Greece and Troy, united by the magnificence of the horsie, realize their common bond and celebrate together with a huge bonfire and a feast. Dad gets apoplectic whenever he hears about that, but luckily he's not around to hear it very often. If only he had just stayed away completely, and not meddled.

Somewhere deep in his mind, Lex knows there are visions of what he and his brothers could do, could have, could be all together, visions that are as twisted and grandiose as any Dad has dreamed up, visions of miraculously enhanced health and strength and mental faculties, visions of having so many advantages over anyone who came against them that they would be unstoppable. And he knows the factor that his Dad hasn't bothered to count into the equations, knows that ultimately, their loyalty is to each other, rather than to their father. Whatever schemes of triumph and conquest Dad has, he's going to fall if he pushes too hard.

Dad has opened the gates, and his sons are sneaking in.


	9. Chapter 9

Lex convinces Luc and Lian to wait in his room while he uses the phone in the nursery to call Dad, since he doesn't want them overhearing this conversation. It takes a while, too many promises that he'll return as soon as possible, too many statements that he can't explain what's happening but it's nothing wrong, too many tiny twinges in his heart that make him want to remain and that he adamantly hardens himself to. There are going to have to be some new standards set in this household if Luc is going to be like this.

Dad answers the phone on the second ring and Lex stands silently, staring at one of Luc's drawings on the wall, a picture with stick figures of their family, all five of them together, Mom, Dad, Lex, Lian, Luc, the way it never was. That picture has been there for two years now, and Lex thinks it odd that Luc actually bothered to put Dad in. He wouldn't have done that lately, even before all these recent events.

"Who is this?" Dad asks into the silence. "Lex?"

"Dad. Yeah."

"What is it?"

"I have... something to report." Lex twines the phone cord tightly around his wrist, clutching at the receiver, leaning back against the wall and resting his elbow on the bookcase. He tells himself that what he's doing will make things better, but it's hard to trust that. It's hard to trust anything in the world, especially Dad. "Luc is... Your experiment worked. But he's feverish, too, and I think he'll get better if the, um, the xenorite is removed. If it's left in, he might just... he might just get sicker." His throat hurts as he says that.

Lionel sounds unfazed. "What are the indications that the attempt was a success?"

"He can... it's some kind of telepathic thing." Lex can still hardly believe words like that are coming out of his mouth. He's had years to explain Lian's powers and his own features to himself, even if he didn't know their cause. But there's a huge gap in his mind between the physically odd yet potentially comprehensible abilities and this kind of physically inexplicable thing, this mental thing. "He can sense other people's emotions. He can even make people feel certain emotions. He did it to me, and the nursemaid, and from the way he's been talking also to the other kids at his school." Lex pauses. "He can't sense Lian, though, and he's been complaining about that, so I don't know what's going on there." There's absolutely no reason for it that Lex can see, there must be some factor that he's unaware of. But how could he know how any of this works at all? He's out of his experience, his depth, struggling to make it.

Lionel hums, as if it all makes more sense to him than it does to Lex, as if he's pleased, and Lex knows exactly what possibilities he's envisioning, the same ones Lex himself did. There are so many uses for that. How could anyone stand against it in negotiations, in anything? Lex was only barely able to deny it because he knew it was happening. He can well imagine that it could get stronger as it develops in Luc, as he practices, as he grows, learns to use it more skillfully and delicately. Lex has also recently been treated to another little demonstration of how inarguable Lian's physical strength is, even though he's only eleven, and the combination of his little brothers there, at that moment, had definitely frightened him. The thought of having his father using them to do whatever he pleases frightens Lex even more. He tries to hold on to the certainty that it won't happen that way, but in the face of Dad's actual presence, even if only his verbal presence, it's more difficult.

"That's wonderful, Lex. Wonderful." It's almost as if Dad reads his mind down the phone lines.

"Dad, please." He hates to beg but he'll do anything at this juncture, anything, to keep Luc from dying. "Please take it out of him. It did what you wanted, you've got the results, don't let them get botched now by too much exposure, by letting him get sick."

"It will take a little while to get everything prepared. I'll have a doctor up there as soon as possible. And Lex... Good job."

It's a relief to hear that Dad will relent and that, Lex hopes, hopes so much, that Luc will be fine. And through that, rubbing against it, Lex's gratitude at his father for complimenting him, his pleasure that Dad is proud of what he did, even when Lex himself is ashamed of it. These twisted emotions are the way Dad always makes him feel. Lex has so much hatred for him and yet he wants, needs, to prove himself to Dad, the most God-like judge he can imagine, the man whose grudgingly-given praise is sweeter than anything. Lex has never put much store in anyone else's opinions, all those ignorant people who don't know the truth about him and his family, those people who are never as successful as his father, those people who pat him on the back at school when he does the simplest stuff, while he knows that he far outstrips them all intellectually. They have such low standards that it's a given Lex will surpass those standards and so the praise means nothing. But Dad... Dad demands greatness from Lex, always, is determined to receive it. Lionel's awful at showing affection, at feeling it, and Lex knows he's more a trophy than a child, but he still wants to be the best trophy he can be, sick as that is, sick as that makes him at himself.

He manages to whisper past the catch in his throat. "Thanks."

"I'll come check on all of you after the procedure is finished." The phone clicks down, connection severed, and a moment later Lex is listening to the dial tone. He sets his receiver down and slumps heavier against the wall, pulling himself together for a moment before he can go back and see his brothers.

Leaving the nursery and going out into the hallway, he can hear the screams before he even opens the door to his room. When he does, he sees that Luc is still on the bed, Lian still in the chair, staying as far away from Luc as he can. The two of them are both yelling as loud as their lungs will allow.

"You killed Mom!" Lian screams.

"Lian bad! Quiet!" Luc screams.

They both turn at Lex's entrance and yell his name in unison, babbling away at him. There's another rush of feeling through Lex, frustration and distaste, and something that moves it inside him and focuses it on Lian. Lex clamps down on his emotions coldly. He is going to bring order to this chaos, set standards that will be followed. His brothers will obey, that he's determined of. No more of this. No more.

He turns to Lian, who stares at him with affected puppy dog eyes, bangs falling in his face and chin stuck out defiantly in contrast. "Don't ever say that, Lian, ever. It isn't true." Lex's voice is strict. He knows that what he's saying is right, he knows it was Dad instead, or Mom herself, or just the fucked up nature of the world. But it wasn't Luc. Then he turns to face Luc, walks over and grabs Luc's arms, kneeling on the floor by the bed, holding him there. Luc's lips wobble, tears in his big blue eyes, and Lex feels the surge of love and protectiveness that he always does, augmented even more this time. "And Luc, you're going to have to learn some manners with this new ability of yours. You can't just go meddling with people's emotions whenever you want to. It's wrong. It's like tying them up or hitting them, you can't infringe on their freedom. Don't do it to me again, baby, understand?"

Two tears roll slowly down Luc's cheeks. Lex knows Luc is putting it on and remains firm. Luc nods, squinches up his eyebrows, leans in and sniffles against Lex's shoulder. Lex isn't sure Luc understands the explanation or the reasons at all, but he thinks that he will, eventually, and for now he ought to at least leave Lex alone and not meddle with him.

There's a knock on the door and Lex nods at Lian, who sidles over to open it, Luc still sniveling onto Lex's clean new shirt. Two of the security guards stand there, along with a woman in a white lab coat. It's the woman who was presenting at the meeting Dad had Lex attend, the meeting where he first learned of all this. She's stern, her hair pulled back into a high, tight ponytail that accentuates her sharp cheekbones and cold eyes, making her look heartless and stiff.

"I'm here for the subject," she says.

"You mean the child," Lex responds, firmly. "My baby brother. I want you to remove whatever you put inside him, make sure he stays healthy."

"I will take him to the proper facilities for it, and return him once it is over."

"No fucking way." Lex doesn't even care that he just swore in front of Luc, who doesn't seem to notice at all, although Lian gives him a shocked glance. "You do it here, with me observing."

"Lex, surely you don't believe I'll perform such a delicate operation in these... surroundings?" She looks around as if Lex's room, neat and clean as he keeps it, is distasteful. Although, really, Lex has to admit that it smells funky now, after all these days where he was sick and locked inside. The security guards stand behind her as if blind and deaf, staring at nothing and unmoving. Lex doesn't even remember her name, and doesn't think she should be allowed to address him like that. He straightens up as much as he can, kneeling on the floor by his bed with Luc buried in his chest. Luc is shivering against Lex, though he remains silent.

"Then I go with you."

"No. Mr. Luthor's orders. You are to remain here with the other child, while I take the subject and finish the final stage of the experiment. We will return him to you when it is over." She still seems emotionless, unfeeling. Lex is horrified, furious at her and at Dad. One of the security guards steps forward, advances to grab at Luc's arm. Luc screams, flails, and Lex leans back and away, out of reach of his churning little fists. It hurts him inside, because he wants to grab and protect Luc, and instead he has to let him go.

The guard flinches, looks stricken, and releases him, retreating a few steps. The other guard and the woman, doctor or scientist, whatever she really is, flinch back as well, the same stricken expressions on their faces. Lian is still standing there, holding the door open, looking uncertain. Lex knows, knows bone-deep, that Luc could drive them away in fear, that Lian could drive them away physically, but he also knows they shouldn't, they can't. That thing has to come out of Luc, and Lex can't safely do it himself. This woman knows how it works, she knows what to do, and Lex will let her take Luc away. He'll feel horrible about it, but he'll let it happen. He's certain that at this point Dad doesn't want Luc to be harmed at all. Now Luc is far too valuable and desirable to have anything happen to him. She'll keep Luc safe and healthy, on Dad's orders.

"Luc, baby, stop it. They won't hurt you. I promise. Just go with them, just for a little bit, and they'll help you. It's like going away to school, just go away with them, just for a bit. You'll be right back. Promise." Lex gathers Luc up in his arms again, presses a Judas kiss to his forehead. "Would I ever let something bad happen to you?"

"No like them," Luc sniffles.

"You don't have to like them. You just have to let them do this one thing. Then they'll be gone."

Raising his head, Luc stares Lex in the eyes. "Lex want."

"I want them to get that thing out of you, yes. I asked them to do it. Now I'm asking you."

Luc turns to them imperiously, letting go of Lex, pulling himself up to his full little kid height. "You do what Lex tell you. You do what I tell you. Take thing out." The woman nods and Luc steps off the bed, Lex steadying him down. He treads haughtily out the door, with the woman and the guards turning and following him. Eventually they vanish around the corner of the hallway. Lian lets the door fall shut as Lex slides down to the floor, leaning back against the side of his bed. He actually hopes Luc doesn't listen to his earlier admonitions, hopes Luc messes with their minds as much as needed to make sure that he's safe through this. Lex covers his mouth with his hand for a moment, biting at the side of his fingers, telling himself again that Dad won't let Luc be hurt now.

"Lex?" Lian's voice is soft, halfway between worry and reassurance.

Lex pushes himself to standing, sick to death of his bed, sick of looking at the far wall from that angle, sick of this room and himself. He walks over and drops into one of the armchairs. "He'll be okay," he whispers.

Lian takes a hesitant step forward, then is suddenly standing right in front of Lex with a blur of air. He drops to his knees, back turned to Lex, and presses his cheek into Lex's lap, wraps his arms around Lex's thighs. Lex reaches out, touches the dark curls at the nape of Lian's neck. "Why?" Lian asks desperately.

"Why what?" Lex needs clarification, because to answer the wrong question will only make whatever it is worse.

"Why am I here? Why am I like this?"

Those questions Lex doesn't know the answer to, just knows that Lian doesn't mean them in the most general philosophical manner. He twines his fingers in Lian's hair, tugging roughly, impotently at it, needing to clutch at some remaining lifeline, staring in front of him blankly, the room a blur. He answers flippantly. "Well, when your mother and your father-"

"Whoever they were."

"You know who they were."

"I've been told who they were. It's not the same. I barely even remember Mom. Lex... It doesn't make sense. How did I get changed? When? Why am I the one who's here? Why was I adopted? Why does the meteor hurt me? Why does Luc say I'm empty?"

Lex has no answers to give about any of that, and he agrees that it doesn't make sense. He cups his hand around the warmth of Lian's neck, feels his pulse fluttering away there. "I don't care why. It wouldn't matter if Mom and Dad found you under a cabbage, you're my bratty little brother." He can't answer with any facts but this. "And I love you." He will have the answers one day, though, he will, he swears it.

"I wish you were the daddy, Lex." Lian sighs warmly against Lex's thigh, voice throaty and tight.

Digging his fingernails into Lian's skin, Lex nods. "Yeah. Me, too." He wants more than anything to be the one in control of all this, the one in control of everything.

They sit without talking for a few moments, Lex listening to the soft sounds of Lian's breathing, stroking over Lian's shoulders and back, feeling the rise and fall of his chest, the constant of life. He thinks over his earliest memories, and he knows that Lian already had all his powers when he arrived, the first time Lex saw him. That was after Lex lost his hair but before he realized how well he healed. He had been shocked by Lian, then decided it was just right that there was something special about his new brother. It wouldn't have been appropriate for him to join the family otherwise. Lex isn't sure, but he believes Lian arrived pretty quickly after the meteor shower. He has some sinister visions of the poor little orphan boy, and how enticing he must have seemed as a subject, one of the first to be deliberately exposed in some Luthorcorp lab. Lex had just been a little kid, but Dad had had access to so much more information. It clearly hadn't taken him long to make the connection and begin working on how to exploit it.

The main question is why Lian is here, and not wherever else the others are. Is he really that much more powerful, more potentially useful? Is there something else Lex doesn't know? He wishes Lian hadn't thought of it, though, wishes Lian hadn't noticed, because he'd rather not have Lian worrying and wondering and, the worst, poking around and asking about it. This is not something to broach with Dad. That's one of Lex's rules, that he never asks the questions when he knows they won't be answered, tries not to tip his hand that way. But Lian doesn't have that restraint.

"Lex..." Lian turns, sliding his whole body around to face Lex, looking up at him, eyes wide and gleaming. "Tell me about Mom." He folds his left arm over Lex's lap, cradles his head in it, reaches out with his right hand and idly fingers at Lex's beltloop. His fingers move too fast for just an instant and Lex shivers at the sensation, as always.

Thinking about Mom is so complex now. It was a lot simpler before he found out that she had exposed herself to xenorite while pregnant. "She used to play peek-a-boo with you. You would move around the room while she wasn't looking, and she'd take her hands from her eyes and say 'there's Lian!' and you wouldn't be there, so she would look around and then point and say 'there!' again." Lian grins, and Lex slides a hand over Lian's face, in front of his eyes. He puts his other palm over Lian's mouth, feeling the shape of it, and Lian bites at him, softly. Lex draws his hands away, revealing first Lian's eyes, then his mouth. "She used to read to us, fairy tales and myths. That was back in the day, when there was more than one story." Lex smiles ruefully.

"I miss her," Lian whispers.

"So do I."

"Don't ever leave."

"I won't." Lex knows Lian isn't stupid enough to think a promise like that can be made and kept, they've both lost enough to know better, but as far as he can ever control it, Lex will keep that promise. They fall silent again, and Lex wonders again if Dad even has any clue what he's really wrought. After a few minutes Lian starts to fidget, entirely unable to just sit still with nothing to do, and Lex sends him off to his cartoons and games, waiting alone for Luc to return.

Lex is unable to concentrate on anything, though he tries. Finally, hours later, just as he's starting to desperately want lunch, the doctor woman reappears with one of the security guards, a sleeping Luc slung in his arms. Lex takes Luc from them, mumbling some kind of thanks for returning him while glaring at them for taking so long and for hurting his brother in the first place, and hefts his unconscious baby into the bed. Luc doesn't stir at all and Lex figures he's been knocked out with something. He feels at Luc's shoulder. The lump of the meteorite piece is gone, Luc's newly re-opened wound sewn up again with fresh stitches and covered with a clean bandage. He still feels hot and feverish, though, and Lex is still worried. They're not out of the woods yet. His fucking bedroom is still a prison and a sickroom.

If Luc gets sick and dies after all this Lex is going to tear the world apart with his bare hands, starting with Dad.

Luc wakes up a few hours later, still hot but not complaining about feeling bad. Lex spends the rest of the day entertaining him, catering to his every whim, not letting him leave the room. It seems so stupid and wrong to Lex that he doesn't get sick, that his body can heal itself and keep itself safe from disease and injury, but that he can't do the same for someone else. He would give anything to be able to guarantee Luc's health. He wishes he could have that power.

It isn't until the next morning, after a night of fitful sleep, Luc cradled in his arms, that Lex feels Luc's temperature return to normal. When he wakes up once in the early hours of the morning and notices that, Lex actually cries with relief, confusing Luc. He clutches Luc tight, his face buried in Luc's curls, wetting them with tears, not at all ashamed of doing so. As far as he can tell, this ought to be the end. This ought to mean that they're past the point where cancer from the radiation is a possibility. Luc is now well and truly through to the other side, a mutation fixed into his body and cells, into his mind, one that will be with him forever, one that they'll all have to learn to live with now.

In that sense it's only the beginning.

Lex isn't sure whether he's supposed to call Dad to report again. He doesn't want to do that right away, anyway. Time enough for it once he's gotten dressed and eaten. All these days with nothing to do feel so short and so long at once, so repetitive. He could swear he just ate breakfast a few hours ago, even though it was yesterday morning. Luc is bouncy and happy this morning, clearly picking up on Lex's new exhilaration. Lex is so incredibly happy right now that he can't worry what the future might hold. Another meteor shower could flatten the house right now and he wouldn't mind at all.

It's Sunday morning. Tomorrow is the first day of spring break and Lex has a lot of homework to catch up on. He's actually able to have thoughts about that now, though, not just thoughts about the horrors of disease and death. He leaves Luc alone for a moment to get some of baby's clothes out of his room, returns with them, and takes Luc into the shower with him, careful not to get the stitches wet. The wound appears to be healing well. Lex presses his hand against it until Luc whimpers, just to make sure, again, that he can't feel anything hiding in there.

Luc is slippery and cheerful, writhing and squirming as Lex washes his hair, asking Lex whether they can go outside to play now and complaining when Lex forces him to use soap.

Just after they get out, when Lex is pulling Luc's shirt down, Lian barges in without even knocking. Luc glares at him, and Lex chastises him for it, but he remains unrepentant. Lex orders breakfast up to his room and Luc starts asking for the horsie. Of course. Lex tells him that he has to wait until after breakfast. Luc eats as quickly as possible, practically inhaling his food, while Lian dawdles at a remarkable rate for someone who can move faster than Lex can see. Lex doesn't let either of them affect him, just enjoys the taste of his eggs and pancakes. After a bit he feels a little less satisfaction with the meal, a little more desire to hurry, and he glances disapprovingly at Luc.

Luc smiles innocently at him, but the feelings fade away.

It's while they're sitting on the bed, Lex reading the story to them with Luc snuggling happily into his chest, head bouncing along with the words, and Lian lying curled up against his legs, arms wrapped around Lex's thigh, that Dad walks in.

"Don't coddle them too much, Lex. I don't want my sons to grow up soft," Dad says, voice firm.

The fact that he finally, now, acknowledges Luc sends a wave of anger through Lex, mixed with a wave of pleasure, pride, and relief. Luc tilts his head up, hair brushing on the underside of Lex's chin, eyes sparkling. Lex tightens his arm around Luc's waist, pulling the book against Luc's side, his other fingers gripping harder into Lian's t-shirt.

"Don't worry, Dad," he replies. "They aren't." If only they could, Lex wishes.

"Can Lex go outside now?" Lian asks softly.

Lionel nods. "Of course. You are all free to return to your normal schedules."

"Return to horsie," Luc orders.

"Luc, do you even know how the story goes, or does your brother just tell you that bastardized version?" Lionel's voice is sharp. Luc doesn't flinch back, like he would have before, just stares right at Dad. Lex is so proud of him for that.

"I know."

The fixed look on Luc's face, his harsh confidence as he says that, cause a chill to spike through Lex's mind. It fades almost immediately, replaced by the warmth of pride again, and he doesn't think more on it. Dad takes a small step back, his mouth twisting.

"Dad scared," Luc continues. "Dad scared of us. Me."

"Nonsense," Lionel huffs. Lian is glancing back and forth between them, calmly, just examining all their faces in turn. His hand wraps tighter on Lex's leg.

Lex is viciously pleased.

"Lex, I expect you to keep up the good work with them," Lionel grinds out, and then he turns and leaves. Luc snuggles up closer to Lex's shoulder and Lian lays his head back in Lex's lap. Lex practically glows. It's wonderful to see Dad get a taste of his own medicine.

Pulling the book out of Lex's hands, Luc glances at the pages, then drops it aside. He leans away, staring at Lex with his huge blue eyes, baby mouth pouting softly. "Go out to play?" he asks, and Lian whoops, sitting up straight. Lex smiles at them both, feeling lighthearted and so full of joy, not worrying about anything.

"Sure." He's so excited to leave his room, the house, finally, that he rushes them out. They walk through the sculpted lawns and gardens that draw so many compliments to a section by the back wall where a playground is set up. Lian disappears, zipping away into the air too fast to see. "One minute clock-time, then I expect you back here!" Lex shouts, to no direction in particular. He isn't stressed.

The outdoors is beautiful, the sky bright blue, the trees covered in spring green, the air soft and warm with a gentle breeze. Taking deep breaths, Lex's heart soars, expands, feels free.

He settles on one of the swings, Luc in his lap, pushing them lazily with his feet, staring at the flowers. Lian appears for a second in front of them, his grin wide, showing sharp white teeth, crinkling the edges of his eyes, as green as the new leaves. He vanishes again, and then Lex feels him catch the swing from behind, give it a gentle shove. Lex clutches Luc tighter to him as his baby laughs happily, Lian pushing them ever higher.


End file.
